Leading consumer electronics and home appliances retailers and brands have joined forces to drive greater support and participation in sustainable solutions across the industry supply chain.
The Coalition for Sustainable Solutions (CoFoSS) includes some of Australia and New Zealand’s leading consumer electronics and home appliances retailers and brands who are working together to reduce the environmental impact of these products and packaging across the industry by developing scalable and cost-effective industry-wide sustainability solutions.
CoFoSS is a not-for-profit organisation initiated by the National Associated Retail Traders Association (NARTA) in 2023.
“We are proud to be able to maximise our scale and reach as a Retail Service Group in the critical area of sustainability, a priority that is so important to corporations and individuals,” said Michael Jackson, CEO of NARTA.
“NARTA thanks our member and supplier network for their enthusiasm and commitment to CoFoSS to date and is excited by its future.”
The coalition currently comprises a group of founding member companies including Bing Lee, Bosch, Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, JB Hi-Fi, Miele, Panasonic, Winning Group, Retravision, Samsung, The Good Guys and NARTA.
“The opportunity to do more to tackle the environmental impact of consumer electronics and home appliance products and packaging is bigger than any one business can achieve alone,” added Kurt Hegvold, managing director at Electrolux ANZ, and inaugural chair of CoFoSS.
“CoFoSS has the potential to make real and lasting changes when it comes to consumer electronics and home appliance products and packaging.”
CoFoSS has commenced discussions with a range of government and industry stakeholders, and Hegvold confirmed this will be a key priority of the coalition.
“We are committed to work collaboratively and constructively on behalf of our members. The early discussions with the government have been positive and support our goal to inform and influence policy decisions,” Hegvold continued.
“We are also working closely with industry bodies, including the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), and the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association (CESA) to ensure we are aligned in our efforts.”
According to John Winning, CEO of Winning Group, there are some great examples of product recycling programs already available for consumers.
“CoFoSS intends to work on a bigger scale and bring the industry together to achieve convenient solutions for consumers, cost-efficiencies for brands and retailers, and sustainable progress,” he added.
“We have a responsibility to use our businesses and ecosystems as forces for good, so that they can improve sustainability across our industry.”
Other immediate priorities of CoFoSS are to address the impact of EPS used in product packaging, as well as e-waste from small appliances by developing industry-wide standards to ensure the responsible recycling of materials across the value chain.
“It is encouraging to see the consumer electronics and home appliances industries working together, and our early discussions with CoFoSS have been constructive,” said Chris Foley, CEO of APCO.
“The coalition members share APCO’s commitment to developing Australia’s circular economy for packaging. It is a great example of how consumer electronics and home appliances industries can work together to find solutions.”
CoFoSS will actively work to attract new member companies from across the consumer electronics and home appliances value chain to the coalition.
