Bunzl, Clorox Australia, and Visy Industries Australia among award winners.

The Australian businesses leading the way in sustainable packaging design and innovation have been celebrated at the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s (APCO) Annual Awards.

More than 180 guests from the packaging and recycling industry came together to celebrate the work of the 28 award-winning organisations over the last 12 months.

The awards were handed out to organisations representing a broad range of sectors including agriculture and nurseries, electronics, healthcare and scientific and manufacturing.

The APCO Awards recognise businesses that have gone above and beyond to implement best practice approaches to sustainable packaging design, demonstrate industry leadership and a commitment to sustainability education.

The finalists and winners (full list below) were selected based on their performance in sustainable packaging design, recycling initiatives and product stewardship programs to develop sustainable supply chains.

The Arnott’s Group took home the evening’s top prize, the Sustainable Packaging Excellence Award, for establishing a sustainable packaging strategy that addresses the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines, incorporating initiatives across the entire packaging value chain from design, production and use of packaging, through to disposal, recovery and the use of recycled material.

The Arnott’s Group has successfully reduced the weight of its packaging, incorporated recycled content, and has commenced transitioning its soft plastic packaging from multi-layer films to a 100 per cent recyclable mono-layer film.

Other award recipients included Sarah Baylis, packaging innovation manager, Fonterra Brands, who took home the coveted Sustainability Champion Award.

This year’s event also included several new awards dedicated to the small businesses championing sustainable packaging – with winners including J C & A T Searle, Australian Garlic Producers, COMSOL and Glow Consumer Products.

Chris Foley, CEO, APCO commented: “Each and every one of the award winners and finalists have demonstrated excellence in, and an incredible commitment to, sustainable packaging innovation, design and leadership. It’s heartening to see the progress that Australian industry is making, with more and more businesses choosing to lead and champion change on this issue.”

The winners include:

2022 Industry Sector Award Winners

The winners for the Industry Sector Awards and Industry Sector Awards (SME) were announced the morning of the APCO awards.

Agriculture and Nurseries – Richgro Garden Products
Chemicals, Hardware, and Machinery – Clorox Australia
Electronics – Dell Australia
Food & Beverage – The Arnott’s Group
General Merchandise and Apparel – Blundstone Australia
Healthcare & Scientific – Emeis Cosmetics
Large Retailer – Officeworks
Logistics and Warehousing – Chep Australia
Packaging Manufacturer and Supplier – Disruptive Packaging
Telecommunications – Telstra Corporation
Tobacco – British American Tobacco Australia

2022 Highest Performing SME Industry Sector Award Winners

The Highest Performing SME Member Awards are made up of seven industry categories:

Agriculture and Nurseries – J C & A T Searle
Chemicals, Hardware, and Machinery – WD-40 Company (Australia)
Electronics – COMSOL
Food & Beverage – Flavour Creations
General Merchandise and Apparel – Glow Consumer Products
Healthcare & Scientific – Thankyou Group
Packaging Manufacturer and Supplier – O F Packaging

Outstanding Achievement Awards:

Outstanding Achievement Award in Recycled Content – Mars Australia
Outstanding Achievement Award in Design & Procurement – Emeis Cosmetics

Our Packaging Futures Awards:

Our Packaging Future Award in Industry Education – Bunzl
Our Packaging Future Award in Consumer Education – Visy Industries Australia
Our Packaging Future Award in Improved Recycling Systems – Closed Loop Environmental Solutions
Our Packaging Future Award in End-Market Development – Grounded Packaging

Highest Performing New Member Awards: