The Australian Packaging Covenant Organization (APCO) today published the Australian Dairy Sustainable Packaging Roadmap to 2025 in collaboration with Dairy Australia and the Australian Dairy Products Federation.
The comprehensive resource covers the current state of sustainable packaging in the dairy industry and what needs to be done as the industry works towards meeting the national packaging targets for 2025.
Dairy manufacturers have made significant strides, but the industry continues to face a number of obstacles and challenges. The new roadmap provides a shared vision and framework for improving the sustainability of milk packaging in the future, as well as providing guidance for the industry on the advances needed now and showing opportunities for collaboration on the path to the 2025 goals and development of one sustainable circular packaging on ecosystem in Australia.
As part of the plan outlined in the roadmap, dairy manufacturers will review all of their packaging to identify and implement ways to optimize sustainability. This includes exploring ways to eliminate and / or reduce packaging, reusable packaging, improved recyclability and increased use of recycled content.
In order to achieve these goals, manufacturers in the dairy industry seek the support of other stakeholders. The roadmap includes a number of actions that are required across the supply chain, including:
Packaging manufacturers and researchers to innovate and develop alternatives to non-recyclable packaging formats
- Recyclers provide sufficient quantities of recycled food-grade resins so that manufacturers can achieve the goals of the recycled content without compromising product quality and safety
- Consumers should reuse or recycle milk packaging at the end of its life
- National, state, territorial and local governments to provide appropriate regulatory frameworks to ensure safety standards and the review of end-to-end resource recovery and recycling systems, including through:
- The national environmental protection measure (packaging materials used) 2011 (NEPM)
- Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ)
- Industry regulators
- Other tools needed to support the achievement of the 2025 targets and ensure adequate safety standards are in place.
The roadmap was developed in collaboration with the Australian dairy industry with extensive advice on the entire value chain of milk packaging over more than 18 months.
Brooke Donnelly, CEO of APCO, said, “This roadmap clearly shows the path the dairy industry must take in the coming years to meet the 2025 targets. Collective action along the entire supply chain is an absolute necessity and it is fantastic to see the willingness that the dairy industry is already showing to make the transition to a more sustainable model. "
David Nation, Managing Director of Dairy Australia said, “This is another great example of working together in the dairy industry. It is the first time a national dairy sector worldwide has come together at this level to support a joint call to action and work together to develop a sustainable approach to packaging. "
Janine Waller, Executive Director of the Australian Dairy Products Federation, says: “The industry is investing in its future with 13 milk producers and the three major retailers officially endorsing the roadmap. In 2019-20, the dairy industry reinvested nearly $ 476 million in capital and has a proven record of investing in sustainability initiatives with an emphasis on reducing packaging waste. This roadmap will help fuel the industry's efforts and we look forward to sharing the accomplishments as we work toward the national packaging targets for 2025. "
Jenny Phillips, Fonterra Packaging's Asia Pacific Sustainability Manager, said, “The roadmap is a great example of how companies across the dairy industry come together to solve a common problem. When it comes to making packaging more sustainable, especially for dairy products, it is not an easy process and there are many challenges to overcome. By working together as an industry, however, we can not only achieve the national packaging targets for 2025, but also faster – and that is a great thing for our environment. "
Bega Executive General Manager Beverage Operations Mark McDonald says: “This is a big step forward for the entire dairy industry. At Bega, we are fully aligned with the industry's roadmap and are committed to achieving our own sustainability goals as well as the national packaging goals for 2025. "
The full roadmap and executive summary can be downloaded from the APCO website.
ALDI Australia supports roadmap
ALDI Australia has officially endorsed the roadmap and praised its ambitious goals and is committed to doing its part to promote the sustainability of packaging in Australia's dairy supply chain.
The roadmap includes a number of strategic actions that the industry can voluntarily take to contribute to key packaging goals and outcomes by 2025, including the 2025 National Packaging Targets, ADIC Dairy Sustainability Framework, Australian Government National Waste Policy and Action Plan, and the National Plastics Plan.
The main goals of the roadmap include:
- 100% of the packaging should be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025
- Collection and recycling systems for all milk packaging available by 2025
- 80% of supermarket products are to be labeled with the Australasian Recycling Label by December 2023
- By 2025, an average of 50% post-consumer recycling in all milk packaging.
ALDI Australia Group Buying Director – Chiller and Alcohol, Adrian Nel says: “ALDI Australia is proud to support the Australian Dairy Sustainable Packaging Roadmap, a unique blueprint for providing a packaging cycle for the Australian dairy sector. The Australian dairy sector has worked tirelessly to identify opportunities and challenges, as well as outline improvement strategies, and ALDI is pleased to do our part in supporting the industry's shared vision of creating a sustainable packaging future.
“We look forward to working with APCO, Dairy Australia, the Australian Dairy Products Foundation and our milk supply partners to jointly facilitate the market transition that supports the provision of packaging sustainability for the Australian dairy industry.
“The goals and strategies of the roadmap are closely tied to our own plastics and packaging commitments that were announced in 2019. This includes the goal of reducing plastic packaging for all private label products by 25% by 2025 and achieving 100% recyclable, reusable or 100% compostable packaging by 2025. ALDI recognized from the start that we can only achieve these goals through a close partnership with reach our suppliers and work together. "
As an endorser of the roadmap, ALDI Australia has committed itself to:
- Work towards the ambitions, goals and strategies of the Australian Dairy Sustainable Packaging Roadmap
- Take the industry-led collective impact approach to drive, track, monitor, and report on roadmap achievement.
- Continue to work with industry to identify and commit to measurable industry-specific goals for packaging sustainability.
“Today's announcement is another milestone in ALDI's continued partnership with APCO. ALDI was a founding member of the ANZPAC Plastics Pact, an agreement that brings government and industry actors together to take action to create a circular economy for plastics. ALDI strives to lead the way in reducing plastics and packaging and recognizes our responsibility to the environment as a major Australian retailer, ”says Mr. Nel.
