Pohlman’s Nursery has continued demonstrating its commitment to year-on-year packaging sustainability progress and design improvements. In the last reporting period, the organisation successfully phased out problematic packaging formats such as coloured pots and actively engaged with its suppliers to phase out all polystyrene (PS) packaging materials. These SKUs are replaced with reusable and recyclable polypropylene (PP) plug trays and punnets. As a result, 91% of the company’s plastic packaging is recyclable via PP collection schemes. Additionally, the organisation’s Business-to-Business PP nursery trays are able to be returned by customers in a closed-loop system for reuse. In 2023, Pohlman’s Nursery reduced the total tonnage of their on-site waste by an additional 20% and increased the recycled content of their plastic packaging to a total of 89%.

The 2024 APCO Annual Report submitted by Southern Plants demonstrates a continued commitment to packaging sustainability and a circular economy. In the last reporting period, the organisation carried out a Polypropylene (PP5) plastic pot re-design, which not only reduced the amount of plastic used, but is also designed to be recyclable and contains 95% recycled content. Southern Plants complements this with 100% recycled Polypropylene (PP) plastic labels sized to minimise wastage. Furthermore, the organisation participates in closed-loop PP5 pot and label recycling via Polymer Processors. This service has allowed for all of Southern Plants’ pots to be recycled. Lastly, the organisation uses composting at its facility to divert onsite green waste from landfill.

Innovative Mechatronics Group has environmental aid at the core of their mission and policies. They have excelled by implementing a comprehensive Sustainable Packaging Policy alongside a recycled content policy. The organisation has optimised its levels of recycled content in its secondary packaging and reuses pallets within the organisation and among its customers. All inbound cartons are shredded to be used as packing for outgoing goods and this has removed their need for bubble wrap entirely. They soon aim to have comprehensive disposal labelling beyond the mobius loop that outlines their recycled content levels and clear recyclability.

Despite being significantly affected by the Lismore flood in 2022, Fresh Investments, a cleaning product manufacturer, has remained dedicated to reducing the impact of its packaging. This includes launching a range of four powder cleaning products in 15kg cardboard cartons for its SimplyClean brand, which reduces plastic content by over 90% compared to equivalent-sized plastic pails. The company has also introduced a new oven cleaner in a recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle. Overall, the organisation has increased the amount of recycled plastic and HDPE in its packaging by 57% in the past 12 months. For its cardboard carton packaging, Fresh Investments features an average of 50.9% recycled content.

Over the past year, Flavour Creations has continued to make significant strides in sustainability and ensuring it is embedded in the culture. By applying the sustainable design principles to their packaging, more sustainable materials have been prioritised, waste has been minimised, and recyclability has been increased across the product range. A commitment to sustainability led to a review of all aspects of operations. As a result, new packaging optimisations include reduced cardboard usage, optimised foil space in beverage products, and identified opportunities for foil box reuse. As a result, 98.3% of Flavour Creations packaging now displays the ARL logo. The organisation’s new ProKick Protein Drink now comes in a recyclable aluminium can, increasing the total recycled content of its packaging by 70% and eliminating 271,700 tonnes of potential plastic waste. Participation in Container Deposit Schemes for all eligible beverages further reinforces this commitment to sustainability.

Harvest Road Oceans accomplished fantastic packaging design improvements this year, demonstrating the organisation’s dedication to packaging circularity. The company re-designed its wholesale hessian bag to implement a “pull string” functionality. As a result, customers are not required to cut the bag open and, therefore, it can be repurposed. The ability to repurpose the bag is clearly communicated on-pack for customers. The re-design process across other products also allowed for material optimisation, resulting in a reduction of packaging materials by approximately 30%.

Furthermore, the organisation places emphasis on recycled content by having supplier procurement policies in place concerning the use of recycled materials. The company’s secondary packaging for its frozen products currently contains approximately 33% post-consumer recycled content and it is investigating possibilities to increase this content. Lastly, Harvest Road Oceans targeted consumer disposal information and labelling by introducing the ARL logo to its frozen primary packaging and removing all non-essential adhesive labels that have the potential to enter the litter stream.

Moose Toys incorporates environmental sustainability into its packaging design. Initiatives include reducing plastic use, promoting plastic-free designs, and developing easily separable packaging to prevent cross-contamination between plastic and fibre for better recycling outcomes. Every SKU is bulk-packed into shipping cartons, with each carton assessed to minimise air space and material usage, thereby optimising shipping space. Moose Toys has an internal review process to ensure all packaging products are developed for sustainability and optimised accordingly. The company uses readily recyclable materials, with Packaging Sustainability Goals considering the recyclability of packaging components post-use. Moose Toys aims to ensure consumer packaging is recyclable through home collection or kerbside bins. All cardboard and paper are FSC Mix or FSC Recycled certified, and all polyethylene terephthalate (PET) blisters contain 30% recycled content (rPET), which is mandatory across all products. Additionally, Moose Toys has banned the use of polystyrene (PS) and black rigid thermoformed blisters and is actively working to eliminate polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from all packaging.

This reporting period, Winter sports gear and apparel company Burton Australia has actively demonstrated the impact that small changes can make to deliver great results. This is evidenced through the removal of mixed material black plastic hooks from its soft goods consumer accessories. The plastic hooks have been replaced with paper hooks, eliminating plastic and making the packaging easier to recycle as a mono-material package. Furthermore, the company has analysed its packaging portfolio to identify any remaining single-use plastic and are in the process of redesigning for easy recycling.

Felton Grimwade & Bosisto’s brands encompass a wide range of products, from essential oils, adult and infant healthcare to household cleaning, laundry and personal care. Their governance structure drives the incorporation of sustainability across all SKUs, addressing challenges in balancing content quantity with packaging integrity and aesthetics. Felton Grimwade & Bosisto’s has taken steps to improve packaging recyclability potential by eliminating carbon black from trigger sprays during a brand refresh and moving to a clear trigger. This involved project included Procurement, Research & Development, Marketing and Sales to achieve a significant impact across 3 key SKUs including Multipurpose, Bathroom Cleaner and Glass Cleaner. This was achieved through participation in the ARL Program and is a win in this fast moving consumer goods category. This large scale project will allow for over 1 million triggers per year to be recycled. It shows leadership in the FMCG category with few other products achieving a recyclable trigger and also a clear bottle.

Eye of Horus Cosmetics have demonstrated a strong focus on circular packaging by developing an internal sustainable packaging guideline, derived from APCO’s own best practice guidelines. The organisation has successfully developed a range of Refillable Beauty including Eyeshadow and Complexion Palettes, Lipsticks and a refill pouch for their Seven Seed Sacred Oil. They are transitioning their top-performing brow products from virgin plastic to post-consumer recycled materials, and continually evolving the remaining range to sustainable packaging including glass and recycled materials. Additionally, Eye of Horus Cosmetics offers pre-paid envelopes for consumers to return used beauty products for recycling through their partnership with a specialised recycling program that offers solutions for hard-to-recycle waste.

Detmold continues to review its packaging range, resulting in material reductions in food trays and cartons, and increased recycled content in carry bags. They’ve launched their sustainability objectives, measuring against six positive impact targets that strongly align with the principles of ‘The Detmold Way’, including targets for 95% of waste diverted from landfill across all production facilities, and 100% of their stock range to meet the 2025 Targets. During this reporting period they started an innovative partnership with Subway that will remove 26 garbage trucks full of plastic from the environment each year through the design of a new fibre-based catering platter that is 100% kerbside recyclable. They have also partnered with Mitolo Family Farms to create what is believed to be Australia’s first kerbside recyclable paper bag for fresh potatoes. The packaging innovation will see Mitolo Family Farms’ premium Gourmandine potatoes sold in new paper bags – delivering a 64% reduction in plastic, with 8.2 tonnes less plastic being used each year when compared its plastic counterpart.

Grounded Packaging has continued to showcase its commitment to sustainable packaging during this reporting period. All the packaging it produces for its customers aims to deliver to APCO’s mono-material recycling advice. Wherever possible they use the highest amount of recycled content. They continue to innovate and have developed a world-first in a high-barrier and fully functional paper suitable for pouches containing food products that aim to be recyclable in the paper stream and are currently undergoing pulpability testing. Grounded Packaging’s paper products contain FSC 100% PCR paper and their plastic laminate structures contain up to 85% food-grade PCR. They are also signatories to the ANZPAC Plastics Pact, the global initiative led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastic Economy initiative aiming to build a circular economy for plastics to combat the problem of single-use plastics and plastic pollution. Grounded Packaging continues to educate their customers through the use of their packaging footprint calculator, which helps businesses evaluate and minimise the environmental impact of their packaging choices. Additionally, Grounded Packaging regularly tests for Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a chemical of concern that APCO and governments are working to phase out of packaging.

As a supplier of share and reuse packaging, CHEP Australia is committed to providing sustainable Business to Business options that contribute to a more circular packaging economy.

This reporting round, CHEP has continued to lead the way in packaging circularity for its sector. CHEP has been reviewing major plastic formats such as crates, bins and plastic pallets to incorporate recycled content, where it is technically and regulatory feasible. To achieve this, CHEP has engaged with its suppliers to trial different resin mixes that are suitable for the rigours of the pooling environment whilst meeting the aims of circular economy principles. Overall, the organisation is working towards a target of 30% recycled content across all its packaging.

In addition, a Reclaim Timber program has been running in conjunction with high volume customer sites to recover fit-for-purpose timber boards for repair of pallets so this timber can re-circulate through the supply chain instead of secondary uses.

CHEP also offers Sustainability Certificates for its Customers, calculated using Life Cycle Assessment that quantify a company’s contribution to a sustainable packaging supply chain. By means of this certificate, CHEP Australia encourages its customers to report against APCO packaging requirements.

Electronics manufacturer Comsol has continued to enhance their sustainability initiatives by maintaining alignment with the SPGs and through the implementation of FSC Certified packaging, commencing in the reporting period with implementation across the range in 2024. These efforts are in line with their broader commitment to environmental stewardship, which includes the pioneering education initiative, Closing The E-Loop. To date, educating over 15,500 students on electronic waste (e-waste) management, sustainable packaging and other social, environmental and economic aspects of e-waste. In addition, Comsol’s collaboration with Grounded Packaging in its B2B operations has introduced a mono-material recycled polybag solution, encouraging the growth of a secondary raw material market and reinforcing Comsol’s dedication to sustainable packaging practices.

Chobani removed the plastic lid from its Gippsland Dairy 160g yogurt pots as part of their commitment to APCO’s 2025 National Packaging Targets. This followed the earlier removal in 2023 of the embedded (in-lid) plastic spoon as part of Victoria’s ban on single-use plastic cutlery.

In the pot’s redesign process, Chobani aligned with the five key SPGs while also adding an IML (In-Mold Labelling) black band to mimic the original lid’s appearance. The new design simplified the consumer’s task of following the ARL and ensured the product could continue to be easily recognised on shelf.

Consumers now have two fewer pieces of plastic to manage after enjoying a pot of Gippsland Dairy yogurt, and the remaining packaging is 100% recyclable in Australian kerbside bins.

Myer has demonstrated a strong commitment to the ARL, incorporating it into both private (customer carry bags, satchels) and public packaging. Myer has utilised the program to improve the recyclability of its packaging. This includes; eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics, reducing packaging through material optimisation, and removing all banned materials, such as EPS.

The program has also sparked conversations between Myer and its suppliers and designers. This year, Myer began meeting with key suppliers, leading to trials and internal design changes to drive scalable improvements. Myer has also started discussions with key national brands like Tefal and PVH to explore packaging opportunities for its SKUs.

Of Myers 52,668, 42,497 SKUs of these have been evaluated via the ARL Program. Myer aims to have the ARL on at least 90% of its SKUs over the next 3 years.

As a supplier of share and reuse packaging, CHEP Australia is committed to providing sustainable Business to Business options that contribute to a more circular packaging economy.

This reporting round, CHEP has continued to lead the way in packaging circularity for its sector. CHEP has been reviewing major plastic formats such as crates, bins and plastic pallets to incorporate recycled content, where it is technically and regulatory feasible. To achieve this, CHEP has engaged with its suppliers to trial different resin mixes that are suitable for the rigours of the pooling environment whilst meeting the aims of circular economy principles. Overall, the organisation is working towards a target of 30% recycled content across all its packaging.

In addition, a Reclaim Timber program has been running in conjunction with high volume customer sites to recover fit-for-purpose timber boards for repair of pallets so this timber can re-circulate through the supply chain instead of secondary uses.

CHEP also offers Sustainability Certificates for its Customers, calculated using Life Cycle Assessment that quantify a company’s contribution to a sustainable packaging supply chain. By means of this certificate, CHEP Australia encourages its customers to report against APCO packaging requirements.

Electronics manufacturer Comsol has continued to enhance their sustainability initiatives by maintaining alignment with the SPGs and through the implementation of FSC Certified packaging, commencing in the reporting period with implementation across the range in 2024. These efforts are in line with their broader commitment to environmental stewardship, which includes the pioneering education initiative, Closing The E-Loop. To date, educating over 15,500 students on electronic waste (e-waste) management, sustainable packaging and other social, environmental and economic aspects of e-waste. In addition, Comsol’s collaboration with Grounded Packaging in its B2B operations has introduced a mono-material recycled polybag solution, encouraging the growth of a secondary raw material market and reinforcing Comsol’s dedication to sustainable packaging practices.

Reckitt’s ‘Project Green Spark’ sets a new standard for industry-wide progress in circular packaging by driving sustainability education and collaboration. Recognising that sustainability is a collective challenge, Reckitt developed a multifaceted approach to engage employees, suppliers, and retail partners in its efforts. A highlight was the creation of a sustainability dashboard—a unique tool that stands alongside traditional commercial metrics, enabling leadership teams to track performance, identify risks and opportunities, but most importantly drive material change within its portfolio. The dashboard has quickly become the second-most-used tool within Reckitt’s operations and was recently showcased at the AFGC Sustainability Summit in Sydney this September.

As part of Project Green Spark, and to accelerate progress towards sustainability KPIs and increase awareness, Reckitt provided tailored sustainability training to over 160 employees across all functions. Additionally, their offices and labs have implemented reusable packaging stations, reducing an estimated 18,000 single-use takeaway packaging items annually. Reckitt is adopting a holistic approach to embedding sustainability across the organisation, integrating it into office practices, business objectives, IT systems, learning plans, internal processes, and external partnerships.

Circular Plastics Australia (PET) is a joint venture between Pact Group, Cleanaway Waste Management, Asahi Beverages, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP). By building the country’s two largest PET recycling plants, they have created a closed-loop system for PET beverage bottles, reducing landfill waste and the need for virgin PET.

This initiative showcases the benefits of collaboration. Cleanaway supplies feedstock through its collection network, Pact operates the facilities, and Asahi Beverages, CCEP, and Pact purchase the rPET for their packaging.

This project has nearly doubled Australia’s PET recycling capacity, producing over 27,000 tonnes of recycled PET in 2022-23 at the Albury site, and more than 6,000 tonnes at the Altona facility since January 2024.

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This initiative is a working example of ACO members collaborating to support progress towards a better packaging future. CHEP, Coles, Rugby Farm, and Fresh Select worked together to replace non-recyclable, waxed cardboard cartons (WCC) with a reusable plastic crate (RPC) system for iceberg lettuce transport in the Coles supply chain. The project involved extensive trials to develop a practical reuse system. The team successfully transitioned to a smaller RPC solution, which is lighter, safer, and more durable, protecting the lettuces during transport, and reducing food waste by up to 30% compared to cardboard cartons which can collapse.

CHEP’s efficient service centres manage each RPC throughout its lifecycle of up to 10 years and over 160 uses. The use of RPCs significantly reduces carbon emissions (by up to 68%), waste to landfill (by 88%), and water consumption (by 95%) compared to single-use cardboard cartons, showcasing significant progress towards more reusable packaging solutions. As a result, to date, Coles and CHEP have successfully eliminated 1.35 million single use waxed cardboard cartons annually. This sets the precedent for expansion into other categories and demonstrates significant leadership and collaboration towards a national transition to a more circular packaging system.

Based on an independent, ISO standard, peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment commissioned by CHEP.

Damian’s commitment to sustainability at Labelmakers Group is truly impactful.

Since Damians his appointment as Environment and Sustainability Manager in 2021 he has driven significant improvements, including a 30% reduction in emission intensity by 2023, achieved two years ahead of schedule. He also launched a liner recovery and recycling program, diverting over 800 tonnes of spent release liner from landfill each year and turning it into insulation products.

His work extends internationally with trials that aim to reduce landfill waste and replace imported materials. Damian’s efforts in enhancing label structures and collaborating with recyclers like Visy and PACT have advanced recycling practices.

Damian’s dedication to sustainable packaging solutions has made a substantial impact on Labelmakers Group, its customers, and the wider industry, making him an excellent candidate for the APCO Sustainability Champion Award.