BeanScene Magazine

Many a company has jumped on the bandwagon when it comes to touting their wares as environmentally friendly, but one - BioPak - was not only born out of a desire to provide sustainable packaging solutions, but to combine this with social justice and consumer education.

Founders, Gary Smith and Richard Fine, along with the BioPak team, don’t merely stop at providing environmentally friendly packaging solutions, they continually push the boundaries of the disposable packaging industry by investing in and developing new products and solutions for industrial, medical, electronics, retail food packaging and disposable food service ware.

The year was 2006 when these eco-crusaders decided they wanted to create a business that would work hand-in-hand with manufacturers, processors and end-users to provide assistance with new biodegradable product applications, product development and prototyping together with product performance testing and processing support. It might sound simple and logical, but in reality such a systemic approach requires a blend of top experience in packaging engineering and innovation; product branding; retail and foodservice sales and; strategic marketing specific to the fresh food industry. Within this scope, there is additional expertise in international sourcing and sales, logistics and supply chain management, as well as technical and field customer service.

“It was a whole new world out there,”  Gary says. While it wasn’t all that hard getting meetings at a corporate level to reach CEO’s and MD’s of some of the biggest companies in the country - they’d all heard the growing environmental concerns from their customers and the media - but, at the time, bio packaging was still in its infancy. Products were double and sometimes triple the cost of regular plastic packaging. It came down to the bottom line. The cost outweighed the perceived advantage.

“I just knew there was a market out there for innovative sustainable packaging,” says Richard. “We abandoned the idea of developing bio-based packaging solutions locally with corporate partners and began producing finished and semi-finished bio packaging products and materials from across the globe with ‘best of breed’ manufacture partners.”

From day one, they placed an extremely strong focus on customer service given their client was dealing with a new range of products. And, that range would only use annually renewable resources, plant-based solutions and products that can be composted.

Pioneering organic salad producer, Ladybird Organics. was their first big client. Bags made from corn- based bioplastics was the perfect fit for their product and their specific target audience didn’t mind paying the extra cost associated with an ethically produced and packaged product.

In 2008 a new product category had a sustainable makeover - the ubiquitous disposable paper cup. The American military initiated the development of a compostable paper cup. Mass production of a compostable disposable cup was, for the first time, commercially viable. The plant-based bioplastics had become almost as affordable as conventional petro plastics and this new technology was ready for mass consumption.

The product acts as a spokesmodel for the sustainable packaging industry. It educates millions of consumers about what’s possible, showcases the fantastic new bioplastic industry and demonstrates how we can easily shift away from our dependence on non biodegradable, non sustainable, fossil fuel- based packaging legacy. The humble paper cup has created a shift in consciousness and has consumers cheering and asking for more.

The industry is growing up, as is evident by the number of new bio packaging options on offer. New materials are being developed, cost is slowly coming into line with conventional packaging materials, functionality is improving and in some cases, exceeding conventional packaging.

Currently bio-based packaging does marginally cost more than conventional packaging. “We make it as affordable as possible by keeping overheads low, buying in bulk directly from the source of manufacture and providing free freight to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,” Gary says. “We also have a warehouse and office in Auckland. This allows our customers to get their product in affordable quantities and we are able to deliver within three hours to most metropolitan areas. We have a full coverage distribution network across Australia and products can be easily ordered online, by our toll free number or email. We also service country Australia and offer highly subsidised freight rates nationwide.”

In line with their environmental ethos, BioPak is Australia’s first packaging company that is Certified Carbon Neutral and every product has a zero carbon footprint. The NoCO2 standard is the highest level of certification offered by the Carbon Reduction Institute. It means that a company has completely removed its climate change impacts. NoCO2 certified companies can display the NoCO2 and Carbon Neutral logos to market and communicate the climate change actions they have taken. Certification is metered through an audit by certified engineers that determines a business’s operational emissions, the purchase of carbon credits and a monitoring process that ensures that the company continues to leave a zero carbon footprint.

BioPak purchases carbon credits to offset the impact of their business. These carbon credits support projects that help developing countries reduce their footprint. The credits are verified carbon offsets generated by the Haryana Renewable Energy Project.

This project purchases agricultural waste such as rice husks from local farmers and then burns this waste in a biomass generator, supplying a reliable source of power to a rural area and displacing coal-fired power plants.

These carbon offsets have been verified against the Voluntary Carbon Standard, one of the world’s leading third-party verification benchmarks, and corresponds to real, permanent, verified and additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions

The concept is simple. First and foremost for BioPak it’s all about the environment and making a difference.

“We aim to be the market leader in this industry” says Richard, “its about acting as a role model for other sustainable businesses, we are carbon neutral not because we have to be, we do it because its the right thing to do. If we truly care about the future of the planet and really want to leave behind a pristine environment for future generations, we should be doing everything we can to take less from the earth and give more back. I am proud to be part of this revolution.”

The humble paper cup has created a shift in consciousness and has consumers cheering and asking for more.

Richard is one of the founding members of the Australasian Bioplastics Association, an association which is dedicated to developing and promoting the bioplastics industry, as well as helping create access to Australia’s growing industrial compost infrastructure.
www.australasianbioplasticsassociation.org.au

They have also partnered with Compost Australia and helped them create a portal enabling all Australians to easily find a composter in their area.
www.findacomposter.com.au/

 Secondly it is about operational excellence.

“I honestly believe that people start dealing with us because of our environmental ethos, but continue to deal with us because of our affordability and efficiency. Customer service and satisfaction are paramount and without their support and dedication, this would all amount to zero. The small businesses are the champions of change. BioPak enables an easy and affordable experience to the small café/caterer/restaurant anywhere in the country so that together we can build our industry and make a mark on sustainable packaging,” Gary says.

“In addition to this we also service the national retailers such as Coles and Woolworths. Woolworths sells a BioPak disposable cutlery set at their deli’s and Coles use plant fibre trays for some of their organic vegetables. We also provide sustainable packaging solutions for other large Australian corporates such as Rio Tinto, Cochlear Limited, Ingham’s, Macquarie University and many more.”

BioPak operates a global manufacturing base, determined by resource availability and the location of advanced technology. This allows them to provide products made from renewable resources to their customers at the most competitive prices.

“Through our ongoing success and growth, we have provided business opportunities for a national network of distributors and broker partners, and they in turn have helped us to grow our business,” Gary says.

By choosing to use disposable packaging made from plants and not oil, their customers are helping to save significant quantities of natural resources, while at the same time reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

“Our products take less energy to make than many of their traditional alternatives. With the most comprehensive range of bio-based packaging materials, we are able to tailor a completely compostable packaging solution for your products, enhancing your brand image and providing you with a unique marketing advantage.

Our goal is to influence change by promoting packaging made from annually renewable resources that seamlessly replace oil-based packaging without adding cost or requiring people to think or act differently. We feel that if given an economically viable and cost-effective choice, the status quo will choose green.”

For more information about BioPak go to: www.biopak.com.au and join the revolution.