On 19 November, BioPak was awarded 2019 Woolworths Sustainability Supplier of the Year in recognition of its ongoing efforts to reduce disposable packaging.
“It is an honour to be acknowledged by Woolworths as a business showcasing excellence in sustainability. Their commitment to engage us to innovate sustainable solutions was the catalyst to making real change,” says Gary Smith, CEO of BioPak.
“Woolworths leads an industry waiting for change to ‘just happen’. They took on the responsibility to force a change in habits that have a real environmental impact.”
BioPak says the partnership has allowed both brands to reduce the amount of disposable packaging purchased by consumers. Its carbon neutral, plant-based packaging is designed to reduce negative environmental harm and increase positive community impact.
The manufacturer designed Woolworths bakery trays with sugarcane fibre (bagasse), a by-product of the sugar refining industry that is certified home compostable to Australian Standards and deemed recyclable by the Packaging Recycling Label Program.
BioPak has also supplied Woolworth’s Countdown stores in New Zealand with a range of sustainable picnicware including paper cups, clear cups, cutlery, napkins, paper straws, and plates.
Together, BioPak and Woolworths are also reducing the amount of regular plastic used in packaging of the latter’s fresh produce ranges. BioPak supplies sugarcane pulp trays to a number of Woolworth’s fresh fruit and vegetable farmers and packers.
Using BioPak compostable Bakery Trays throughout 2019 has enabled Woolworths to offset 3213 tonnes of carbon emissions —equivalent to driving a new car around the world 302 times – and avoided 1209 tonnes of plastic being made and the 1,184,835 litres of crude oil used to make it.
Woolworths has also offered an opportunity for their customers to divert the trays from landfill and create compost instead. If all trays were composted, they would create 846 tonnes of compost, or 58,032 bags.
BioPak also won Outstanding Achievement in Leadership at the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Awards in Melbourne on 20 November.
For more information, visit www.biopak.com.au
