Kavalan Green Leader Awards return for 2026

PVC-free wide-format materials brand, Kavalan, has announced the return of the Kavalan Green Leader Awards for 2026, building on the momentum of its inaugural programme launched in 2025.

The awards, which recognise outstanding wide-format print projects produced using Kavalan’s PVC-free materials, will once again celebrate customers, creatives, and print service providers which are deemed to be pushing sustainability forward.

For 2026, Kavalan is expanding the programme with the introduction of the Green Spark category, designed to engage students, apprentices, and early-career creative professionals.

Green Spark invites participants to develop a conceptual wide-format print project that demonstrates how sustainable, PVC-free materials can be used to bring ideas to life, whether through experiential installations, retail environments, community projects, or brand activations.

The 2026 awards will be judged by an independent panel of industry voices, with returning judges including Marcus Timson, co-founder of FuturePrint; Steve Lister, global sustainability consultant; and Nick Widdowson, founder of ShopperFIRST and board member of POPAI UK & Ireland.

Joining the judging panel for the 2026 awards are Lucy Swanston, managing director of Nutshell Creative, and Jack Gocher, editor of Eye on Display.

Winners of the Kavalan Green Leader Awards will be announced live at FESPA Global Print Expo 2026, which is taking place in Barcelona from May 19^th to 22^nd.

Nova Abbott, head of marketing at Kavalan, says: “The response to the Green Leader Awards in 2025 certainly exceeded our expectations.

“It was a fantastic opportunity for our community to receive some well-deserved recognition for the incredible innovation, creativity, technical excellence, and strong commitment to print sustainability that they demonstrate day in and day out.”

Speaking about the goals for the 2026 awards, Abbott continues: “As the awards return for 2026, we’re looking forward to expanding their impact as we celebrate real-world large-scale applications as well as opening the door to emerging ideas that will help shape the future of sustainable print with our Green Spark initiative.”

The inaugural awards attracted a range of international entries and showcased a diverse range of applications, from large-scale building wraps and construction hoardings to retail installations and experiential projects.

Among the inaugural award winners was materials supplier, Blue Rhine, which received the Green Spirit Award for its work at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club.

Recognised by Kavalan for its “education-led approach to sustainability,” Blue Rhine was praised for helping customers across the GCC region adopt PVC-free wide-format print solutions in some of the world’s most challenging climate conditions.

Reflecting on the project, Rizin Kabeer, product management leader at Blue Rhine, says: “The region’s climate conditions are quite tough, and this is where Kavalan came in – I would call it the missing piece of the puzzle.

“Kavalan bridged the gap by offering a sustainable solution, while its Eco Calculator web tool allowed us to provide customers with tailored certification showing exactly what they had used. The print quality, the lightweight nature of the material, and the environmental data all came together to bring the sustainability message to life.”

Entries for the Kavalan Green Leader Awards 2026 are now open and are free to enter. Submitted projects must have been completed within the official assessment period, which runs from March 1^st 2024 to February 28^th 2026.

More information about the competition rules and deadlines can be found on the Kavalan Printing website. Shortlisted entrants will be notified by email by May 1^st, 2026, with winners informed by May 11^th and officially announced live at FESPA Global Print Expo in Barcelona.