The PKN Women in Packaging Awards event was a vibrant occasion celebrating talented, hard-working women, with winners chosen from a group of high calibre finalists, whose collective success marks positive steps forward for our industry.

The inaugural PKN Women in Packaging Awards event, which took place last Friday, 21 June, in Sydney, was a triumphant occasion for sharing ideas, networking with industry changemakers, and honouring outstanding leadership and contributions to the Australian packaging industry.

A 20-strong delegation of PIDA winners from Australia and New Zealand flew to Bangkok, Thailand to attend the 2024 WorldStar Packaging Awards ceremony, which was held at ProPak Asia.

Birds Eye has committed to sourcing post-consumer recycled (PCR) material as part of its broader sustainable packaging journey, commencing with plastic steam bags.

A new national circular economy framework will be released by the end of the year, which will outline innovations and priorities needed for the country to transition.

Raphael Geminder’s $234m bid to take full control of Pact fell short of the 90 per cent ownership he needed on Friday, resulting in the share price dropping by 9 per cent in trading this week.

Australian rigid packaging provider, Plasdene Glass-Pak, has acquired Vinkem Packaging, a secondary packaging supplier that predominantly services the Australian wine industry.

Orora has signed an agreement with CleanCo to secure long-term supply of renewable energy for the company’s cans manufacturing facility in Rocklea, Queensland.

Some of the country’s largest packaging and materials suppliers, including Amcor, Orora, and Visy, are championing more inclusive and gender balanced workplaces by joining NAWO.

In what the company is calling an Australian first, BioPak has launched its PHA range, which it says is a “game-changing innovation set to revolutionise the home-compostable cup industry”.

Amcor has expanded its packaging innovation hubs around the world with the recent opening of its European Innovation Centre in Ghent, Belgium.

PKN’s latest issue for 2024 is hitting desks, full of news and in-depth features, including our comprehensive coverage of the inaugural Women in Packaging Awards and its finalists, as well as the latest developments in Innovation & Design, Sustainable Materials, Pack & Label Printing, and Cosmetic Packaging.

CUPSZ and De Jong Ecocups have merged under the CUPSZ brand, with investment from Detmold Ventures, an affiliate company of the Detmold Group.

Melbourne-based material science company Great Wrap has teamed up with Opal Packaging Plus, a division of cardboard packaging and recycling company Opal ANZ, to distribute its new Certified Compostable Machine Pallet Wrap.

In the first year of PKN’s Women in Packaging Awards programme, industry has stepped up with meaning. The response has been phenomenal, and the judges had their work cut out for them selecting the finalists from a competitive field of high-calibre nominees.

At The Hive Awards in Sydney today, the Best Packaging category was won by Don Smallgoods, part of George Weston Foods, for its resealable flow wrap pack for sandwich fillers and other smallgoods.