The Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations.
Elements could include social, material, source reduction, energy and recovery. The award also considers all environmental impacts across the packaging solution, including meeting the 2025 National Packaging Targets, embedding the Australasian Recycling Label on pack, adhering to as many of the Sustainable Packaging Design Guidelines as possible, and more.
Due to the high number of entries across varying Sustainable Packaging Design principles, the judges separated the winners into subset activities. This year there are seven Gold Sustainable Packaging Design winners, across the following sub categories:
- Plastic to Fibre Transition
- Plastic Reduction
- E-commerce
- Compostable
- EPS Replacement
- Recyclability Initiative
- Recycled Content & Lightweighting
PLASTIC TO FIBRE TRANSITION
The 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – Plastics to Fibre Transition Gold winner is Bunzl Workwear Packaging by Bunzl Safety and Lifting.
Bunzl Safety & Lifting conducted an audit across the entire Mack workwear range to identify opportunities to incorporate the SPG’s into packaging design and to improve overall packaging sustainability in line with 2025 National Packaging Targets.
The two primary packaging components carried by all garments were a poly bag and swing tags.
Mack workwear shirts, pants and jackets were utilising a 0.6-gram poly bag as their primary packaging material.
Following SPG Principle 2, the paper sleeves were designed to display the product information and brand name, but kept to the minimal size that still achieved functionality. The new paper sleeves size was kept to a minimum and are significant smaller and lighter.
Mack workwear shirts, pants and jackets were carrying three plastic-coated, paper swing tags attached to the garments with a plastic swift tag.
Following SPG Principle 2, the information on the swing tag was reviewed and consolidated, resulting in a single, uncoated, paper swing tag. Significant weight reduction was achieved with one single paper tag.
Following SPG Principle 6 and 7, the plastic swift tag that attached the swing tags to the garments were replaced with renewable cotton cord.
The secondary packaging was also reviewed. Previously used solvent-based ink on all cardboard boxes was replaced with water-soluble ink, aligning with SPG Principle 4.
The mobius loop was added to the cardboard cartons and paper sleeves to inform consumers on the recyclability.
All Bunzl Safety & Lifting workwear items was redesigned to have a paper sleeve, single swing tag and cotton cord. In total, over 2000 SKUs were redesigned.
PLASTIC REDUCTION
The 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – Plastics Reduction Gold winner is Maggi Mug Noodles 4-Pack – Chicken and Beef Flavour by Nestlé Australia.
The Maggi Mug Noodle 4-Pack is a first-to-market product for the noodles snacking category in Australia.
Knowing that over half of Australians eat instant noodles in a cup or bowl at home was key to driving their efforts to provide an alternative format to the on-the-go convenience of Maggi Cup Noodles, while reducing virgin plastic use. Maggi Mug Noodles delivers virgin plastic reduction – using 26 tonnes less virgin plastic compared to the traditional Maggi Cup Noodle per year.
Per serve, Maggi Mug Noodles uses 83 per cent less plastic packaging per serve compared to Maggi Cup Noodles.
The new packaging format will reduce CO2 outputs in packaging and transportation streams by approximately over 400 tonnes when compared to the previous pack format.
By removing the large plastic cup traditionally found on Maggi Cup Noodles, they substantially reduced the amount of packaging required to be disposed of at end-of-life.
The remaining packaging components have been designed to be recycle ready - the cardboard box, wrappers and tastemaker sachet.
All soft plastic is designed for recycling and can be recycled where local infrastructure allows, including the cardboard box that the Maggi Mug Noodles 4-pack comes in which is recyclable in kerbside systems.
To help provoke a consumer behaviour change, the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) is located on all components of the Maggi Mug Noodle packaging, from the cardboard box to the noodle wrapper to the flavour sachet, supporting proper disposal after use.
E-COMMERCE
The 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – E-Commerce Gold winner is Korrvu Retention for Australia Post by Sealed Air Corporation and Australia Post.
Australia Post delivers more than 500 of its branded single pack and twin pack bottled wine parcels daily, and while each delivery is handled with care, the role of protective packaging in this application is paramount.
Dedicated to fostering sustainable and efficient supply chains, Sealed Air, in partnership with Australia Post, set out to revolutionise packaging for wine during distribution, prioritising alignment with sustainability goals.
Korrvu Retention is designed to secure products during shipping. Korrvu Retention packaging consists of a 100um PE film adhered to foldable carton board that acts as a retention frame, holding the product securely in place. The retention system helps protect fragile items from damage during transit by preventing movement within the package.
Korrvu Retention has been adopted by Australia Post as an alternative to traditional packaging materials like polystyrene and oversized bottle nest boxes.
In addition, Korrvu's sleek design eliminates the need for void fill packing peanuts, offering both protection for the product and environment.
Korrvu Retention underpins sustainable design and environmental responsibility for the shipping of wines by Australia Post.
By switching to Korrvu Retention, Australia Post have eliminated nearly 5000 polystyrene boxes from landfill annually.
As Australia Post transitions away from bottle nest boxes, this will enable a packaging reduction of 13,000kg per annum, and because Korrvu comprises 70 per cent recycled content, Australia Post can reduce its virgin fibre dependency by 48,000kg per year.
Korrvu is recyclable via kerbside collection recycling bins, and there is no need to separate the PE. This is clearly communicated on pack through an Australasian Recycling Label (ARL), thereby best ensuring Korrvu gets a chance to be recycled into something new.
COMPOSTABLE
The 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – Certified Compostable Gold winner is Home Compostable Container Range by BioPak.
BioPak’s Aqueous Home Compostable Container range with Aqueous coated BioBoard has been designed to make products more home compostable, so that consumers will be able to dispose of their aqueous containers along with the organic waste into the home compost bin or residential FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) bin in councils that accept compostable packaging.
The Aqueous Home Compostable Container range (Aqueous lined BioBoard) is made with FSC-certified paper. By switching to an Aqueous coating from a PLA lining, they are significantly reducing the thickness of the container (from 30gsm to 8gsm) making the end product both sturdy and lightweight.
The range is certified home compostable to Australian Standards (AS5810) and will be labelled (currently pending) with the ABA home compostable logo and text – clearly indicating it is suitable to break down in a home compost environment. The packaging is sustainably sourced and ethically manufactured in production facilities certified to ISO14001 environmental standards.
BioPak’s ultimate goal is to expand the home compostable range to help consumers who don’t have access to the residential FOGO collection. They want to address the issue of end disposal across all markets so that consumers can enjoy their food, and then throw it in their home compost bin to break down.
EPS REPLACEMENT
The 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – EPS Replacement Gold winner is EPS Replacement Prawn Carton by Tassal Group and Visy Industries.
The EPS replacement prawn box for Tassal Group moves away from the traditional EPS solutions and into a fibre-based solution. A locally sourced PE film is laminated to the paper for functionality and provides performance against wet conditions that the prawn box may come in contact with.
Key to the success is the origami-style folded corners, which makes the box both strong and leak proof. The prawn box design was revised to ensure an efficient way to pack and close the box was evident. The lid is an intuitive collapsible design, that provides efficient space when stored and improved productivity when erecting the lid to place over the base.
The base component is machine erected nearby at Tassal's prawn site, which allows for efficient packing during production. The weight load capacity was designed based on application requirements.
The EPS Replacement prawn box developed for Tassal Group is designed with FSC-certified materials with 70 per cent recycled content and meets ISO 14021 for recyclability. Visy have locally sourced the material, avoiding international sourcing and shipments of paper.
The first at scale test saw Tassal move over 33,000 cartons of prawns from polystyrene to fibre cardboard partnering with Visy.
Tassal's prawn box, manufactured by Visy, has paper-based materials that are recyclable through local Australian kerbside recycling bins. After collection, they can be re-made into new fibre-based products. With an at-scale solution now, Tassal is looking to continue using the carton and optimising its use.
RECYCLABILITY INITIATIVE
A High Commendation was awarded to Birds Eye Steamfresh 750g by Simplot Australia.
There were two Bronze winners - Thermocup by Wellman Packaging; and Woolworths Pad-free rPET Trays with ‘Leave Attached” Film for kerbside recycling by Pact Group, Woolworths and Hilton Foods. The Silver winner was QV Face Range by Ego Pharmaceuticals.
And, the 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – Recyclability Initiative Gold award went to Masterfoods Squeezy Pet Sauce Bottles by Mars Food and Wellman Packaging.
The new Masterfoods Squeezy PET bottles are to be converted over to 100 per cent recycled PCR rPET.
Bottle weights for the new Masterfoods Squeezy PET Bottles are a saving of 15.5g or 38.75 per cent less for a 500mL PET and a saving of 4.5g or 20.45 per cent less for the 250mL PET.
Based on current volumes deployment of PET bottles in both 250mL and 500mL sizes, a saving of ~18 per cent in plastic used to produce bottles for the current range.
Volumetrically, the thinner wall sections for the PET bottle, results in an overall reduction in bottle size and less space required for some tonnage of product.
The use of high-speed blow moulding and potentially blow filling equipment for production and filling of the bottles will substantially reduce the energy component on a per filled bottle basis.
The bottles are specifically designed to be recovered via a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and PCR recycling systems as food grade resin and returned to the trade for bottle making in a B2B loop.
The new bottles deliver substantial sustainability dividends towards the 2025 National Packaging Targets and beyond including:
- Bottles that are 100 per cent recyclable.
- Maximum chance of resource recovery in the MRF for return to bottle making as rPET PCR.
- Extreme lightweighting saving over 38% plastic in the 500mL PET bottle vs its LDPE predecessor.
- Clear, unpigmented PET used as most suitable for PCR recovery.
Wellman Packaging says that if this PET bottle was used for the 50 million or so LDPE bottles consumed each year for tomato and BBQ sauce, it would save over 900 tons of plastic.
RECYCLED CONTENT & LIGHTWEIGHTING
The Bronze winner is Don Smallgoods 100% rPET Tray by VERIX and Martogg Group; while the Silver award went to Starward Nova by Starward.
And, the 2024 Sustainable Packaging Design – Recycled Content & Lightweighting Gold award went to Green Action Dishwashing Liquid 500ml by TrendPac.
The Green Action Dishwashing Liquid packaging is made from 100 per cent recycled mono-material PCR PET, ensuring it is fully-recyclable at the end of its lifecycle.
The design offers a 25 per cent reduction in bottle weight, equating to a 10g weight reduction. This reduction translates to saving 12 metric tonnes of plastic per year, resulting in a reduction of over five metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually.
By using 100 per cent rPET the pack offers a significant reduction of 60 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent compared to virgin PET. The clear, unpigmented design maximises material recovery and enhances the value of recycled PET. Additionally, the cap is made from unpigmented plastic.
The label uses acrylic adhesive, which releases the label during the caustic washing process, facilitating the recycling of the bottle.
The design also includes a reduction in label coverage from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, resulting in a substantial reduction of 296m² of material per annum. To put this into perspective, this reduction is larger than a tennis court (260.87m²). This translates to a saving of 16kg of material per year, excluding the paper liner. This reduction in label material not only minimises waste, but also contributes to resource efficiency.
The addition of the infinity fern design (inspired by Mobius loop) on the front of the pack serves as a visual cue, indicating that the packaging is recyclable.
The pack also incorporates the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) on the back of the pack to educate and encourage consumers to recycle the packaging at the end of its life.
TrendPac has also reduced the carton area per unit by seven per cent, which further enhances material efficiency.
By reducing bottle weight, label consumption, and carton size the Green Action Dishwashing Liquid packaging minimises environmental impacts, promotes resource efficiencies, and sets a new standard for source reduction practices in the industry.
