The judges are an independent panel of qualified experts in packaging, logistics, industrial design, design for environment, and environmental issues. Judges' decisions are final. The U.S. EPA is not involved in judging entries.

Victor Bell

President of Environmental Packaging International (EPI)

Victor Bell is President of EPI, a consultancy specializing in global environmental packaging and product stewardship requirements. Mr. Bell, who founded EPI in 1998, is a Certified Packaging Professional with more than 20 years of experience with environmental issues associated with packaging and products. EPI has provided assistance to major companies worldwide in the electronics, toy, soft drink, cosmetics, medical, and general merchandise industries.

EPI clients include companies such as Cisco Systems, The Estée Lauder Companies, International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, MeadWestvaco, Microsoft Corporation, Pitney Bowes Inc., Starbucks and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, trade associations, and small companies that export packaged products.

James P. Cochrane

Manager of Package Services, United States Postal Service

James “Jim” Cochrane was appointed Manager of Package Services for the U.S. Postal Service’s Product Development group in January 2002. In this role, Jim is directly responsible for the strategic planning and growth of all package products shipped through the Postal Service. This includes the development and operational management of all existing and new package products. In fiscal year 2002, this equated to approximately 3.4 billion shipments and over $10 billion in revenue.

Prior to this assignment, Jim served as the Associate Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for the Expedited and Package Services strategic business unit of the Postal Service where he directed all marketing and advertising activities for the portfolio of Package products offered by the Postal Service. Prior to that assignment he served as the Associate Vice President of Sales for the Northeast Region, where he was responsible for commercial sales of $12 billion annually.

During his 28-year career with the Postal Service, Jim has held numerous positions. These positions include: District Manager, Customer Service and Sales of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, where he lead the efforts of 14,000 employees as they served three million customers a day, and Senior Plant Manager of Northern Virginia where he managed three Processing and Distribution Centers, which processed more than eight million pieces of mail per day.

Bruce MacGregor

IDEO

Bruce MacGregor heads a multidisciplinary studio in IDEO's Palo Alto offices, where he is responsible for the quality of work and resources for all the projects in the studio. Since joining IDEO in 1996, Bruce has been involved in a wide range of industries such as consumer electronics, computers, medical devices, and workplace furniture.

Specific projects have included development of a new home appliance for clothes,a new-generation slot machine,research for a high-speed electronics device, a bioreactor package for growing skin tissue,a revolutionary energy storage and delivery product, new concepts for computer peripherals and personal communications, and advanced concept projects for the future of work spaces and for the future of computing.

Bruce holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and an MS in Product Design from Stanford University, where he still occasionally lectures.

Ben Miyares

V.P. of Industry Relations for PMMI

Ben joined PMMI as vice president, Industry Relations in 1998. He has worked in the packaging business since 1963 as a writer, analyst, packaging consultant, conference organizer, commentator and frequent speaker on packaging topics at numerous international conferences, association meetings, corporate and consumer programs. Currently a Fellow of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), Miyares was named "Packaging Professional of the Year" by the Packaging Institute/International in 1988. His market analyses, editorials and commentaries have won numerous citations and awards, including three Jesse H. Neal awards – the Pulitzer Prize of the American business press – for "outstanding achievement in business magazine journalism."

John Stutz, Ph.D.

Vice President and Senior Research Director, Tellus Institute

Dr. Stutz is a vice-president of the Tellus Institute. Since 1976 he has directed a wide range of energy and solid waste related studies and projects. His solid waste clients include the U.S. EPA, various state and local governments, and the OECD in Paris. He is the author of major studies of source reduction conducted for the U.S. EPA, the OECD, the Massachusetts DEP, and the New York City Department of Sanitation. Dr. Stutz received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1969. He taught at MIT, SUNY Albany, and Fordham University before helping to found Tellus in 1976.