Around every corner at last month's PACK EXPO Las Vegas, we heard the same refrains: Safety, security and, most often of all, sustainability. The exhibitors, visitors and speakers at the Las Vegas Convention Center had three messages to deliver and receive. And did we hear them!

Packaging and converting machinery makers are doing all they can to improve the safety and functionality of their equipment, from high-tech control systems to easy-as-pie human-machine interfaces. The OMAC Packaging Workgroup has made great strides in standardizing machine state language. The machinery companies have incorporated more safety features and user-friendly systems into their products. Rather than seeing many new packaging machines, we saw significant enhancements, improvements and refinements.

The security of the U.S. supply chain for both food and pharmaceuticals was the second most-often-sung refrain. Track-and-trace systems abound to protect consumer goods from counterfeiting, tampering and diversion. Far from being just a drain on the U.S. economy, counterfeiting and tampering are serious security threats to consumers.

But, by far, the unequivocal top-of-the-charts song at this year's show was sustainability. No longer just a “green” movement, sustainability is a business directive with financial ramifications. The vast majority of equipment and materials providers has taken the intent of reducing their carbon footprint to the very heart of their corporate responsibility.

Would you like to know what other consumer goods companies and packaging suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability? The Sustainable Packaging Coalition and Packaging Digest reveal the results of a newly completed, comprehensive research study benchmarking the state of sustainability in the packaging marketplace. Register for this Webcast at www.packagingdigest.com/info/sustainable.