More than 200 guests celebrated the achievements in sustainable packaging transformation over the past 12 months at the 2023 Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) annual awards.
Chris Foley, APCO Chief Executive Officer, applauded the collaboration, innovation and leadership from this year’s finalists and winners.
“The awards demonstrate the industry’s progress to meeting the 2025 National Packaging Targets and more broadly how we are shaping the future of packaging here in Australia,” Foley said.
“It’s empowering to see organisations across the industry laying the foundations for a stronger packaging system beyond 2025, and making tangible progress toward implementing a circular economy for packaging. I can’t wait to see the ground-breaking achievements and positive change that emerge over the next year.”
This year, APCO partnered with the Banksia Foundation, which brought a panel of independent judges from across the packaging industry value chain.
The coveted Best of Reporting Excellence Award went to electronics company Belkin Limited. Belkin investigated how its packaging is managed post-consumer purchase and used the data to develop packaging that aligns with the 2025 National Packaging Targets for single-use plastic reduction, recycled content, and the use of compostable materials.
Bryan McKay, Head of Packaging at Woolworths Group, was recognised as this year’s Sustainable Champion for his efforts to scale sustainable packaging initiatives which have contributed to packaging circularity within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.
The Our Packaging Future (OPF) Awards, celebrate industry achievements in consumer education, improved recycling systems and end-market developments.
Among the winners of the OPF Awards was CHEP Australia, which took home the Reuse Award for its new and upgraded service centres that contain state-of-the-art technology to repair, wash and condition CHEP pallets, bins and containers.
Coles Group, was awarded the OPF Industry Education Award for its supplier packaging enablement program aimed at addressing key supplier knowledge gaps in packaging sustainability education.
Officeworks received the OPF Consumer Education Award for its ‘Greener Choices’ product range which was relaunched as the ‘People and Planet Positive’ product range and introduced a reuse, refill and recyclable category.
Other award winners included Tetra Pak Oceania and saveBOARD, recognised in the OPF Improved Recycling Systems Award for working in partnership to launch Australia’s first beverage carton recycling facility in Warragamba, New South Wales.
Brother International Australia won the OPF Sustainable Packaging Guidelines Implementation Award for creating packaging with a clear recovery solution in mind and incorporating recycled content into its packaging.
SC Johnson won the OPF Recycled Content Award for development of bottles made from 100 per cent Recovered Coastal Plastic (plastic collected on land within 50 kilometres of an ocean).
The winners of the Industry Sector Awards were announced prior to the award celebrations. The Industry Sector Awards recognise high performing APCO Members based on their annual report.
Find a full list of winners at: www.apco.org.au
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