Australia’s largest distributor of printable materials and consumables aims to drive the conversation for sustainable packaging with its new online educational resource, ecoporium by Ball & Doggett.
As anyone operating in the packaging industry knows, the conversation around sustainability is broad and nuanced, with layers of complexity to be unpacked with expert input as the industry works to build its understanding of sustainability and the objectives it seeks to achieve.
Zaidee Jackson, Ball & Doggett’s national business development manager Sustainable Packaging, and the principal creative project lead on the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett brand, says, “As distributors, we are well positioned to partner with customers to support their sustainable pathways. Recognising what sustainability means to the market and the need for continued education, we are proud to deliver a resource that focuses on the conversation around sustainability and materiality for Australia.”
Positioned as ‘The Destination for Sustainable Packaging’, ecoporium by Ball & Doggett creates a channel for all audiences to gain insight to the world of packaging materials through the lens of the company’s Labels & Packaging division.
Jackson says, “We are the architects of our own business future and building the foundation of our sustainable culture. It’s about the conversation, the collective impact and sharing important information pertaining to sustainable packaging – supporting the market as we look to achieve national packaging targets set by APCO.
“This resource has been curated with intent and purpose to offer visibility on our labels and packaging range along with an experience that our customers can trust.”
“Following the release of APCO’s Review on the 2025 Targets, it’s clear we need to be more proactive and act with urgency, so driving education and supporting decisions by brands that are new to this arena is imperative,” Jackson adds. “In doing so, we will work collectively with a shared economy with regards to information being made available so that targets and sustainable roadmaps can be achieved.”
Jackson says ecoporium by Ball & Doggett allows the distributor to shape a resource that is accessible not just for companies in the industry who already know Ball & Doggett but reaches a new audience. This includes the membership base of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), creatives that have pivoted to packaging design, emerging creatives completing design degrees, the average consumer, the brand owner adopting a position of activating a sustainable roadmap for their business and in turn offering sustainable packaging as the norm to consumers.
Nerida Kelton, executive director of the AIP, says, “In the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of sustainability, education is critical, so it is wonderful to see one of our corporate partners Ball & Doggett develop the ecoporium platform. This innovative and detailed platform will enable even more people access to podcasts, articles, research and learnings from experts in the industry.
“We commend Ball & Doggett for having the foresight to create a place for people to learn, share knowledge and be able to redesign their solutions to have lower environmental impacts. I would strongly recommend that you have a look around ecoporium as there is something for everyone.”
ACCESSIBLE WEBSITE
The website (ecoporium.com.au) houses all the products within the sustainability portfolio for the Ball & Doggett Labels & Packaging division.
“Users will be able to access and explore the right products for their desired applications. The user can navigate through to the Ball & Doggett parent page to order those samples, at no cost, directly from the company’s National Designline teams,” Jackson explains.
Ecoconnect is a section of the website that boasts a range of resources which include interviews, articles, gallery of Ball & Doggett products, and case studies of our products in use. It includes a full product index along with an ecoaudit Q&A that will allow our specialists to connect with users, and support or partner with them on their sustainable journey.
Working with the Carbon Reduction Institute, Tony Bertrand, national marketing manager, has been developing Ball & Doggett’s own carbon calculator for a select range of products. Customers will be able to convert their stock purchases into a carbon neutral advantage for the brand they are printing or converting for.
SHARING EXPERTISE
While the website was under development, in October last year Ball & Doggett launched a podcast available on all audio listening platforms under the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett banner. The podcast is incorporated on the website platform.
Jackson has interviewed industry and sustainability practitioners, specialists, curators of packaging brands, customers and suppliers on how they view sustainable packaging.
“These conversations are pertinent to share with the market as we all navigate this pathway,” she says. “We are a trusted partner for brands as they journey to explore materials for their products and how this represents them through the lens of their consumers.
“Ball & Doggett extends our gratitude to all our guests that have shared their time, insight and expertise, believing in the core of why ecoporium by Ball & Doggett was created,” she says.
One such guest is John Bigley, MD of Zipform Packaging, an award-winning company and one of Australia’s innovators, delivering composite fibre-based packaging products to market for well-known brands.
Bigley says, “I was delighted to be able to contribute to this innovative initiative to discuss all things packaging and sustainability. Ball & Doggett has set up a great platform for knowledge sharing and, as we keep hearing, collaboration is an important part of driving a circular economy. The high quality body of material now available on this platform should really help businesses at any stage of their journey towards sustainability. Furthermore, you get a real sense of community across virtually all the podcasts.”
Jackson concurs, saying, “Sustainability is at the core of good business practices and we value being part of the collective making an impact and creating shared experiences to reduce impacts on the environment.”
The official launch of ecoporium by Ball & Doggett takes place in Melbourne on 1 June, with a strong line-up of industry leaders presenting to an audience across the printing and packaging value chain.
The exclusive media partner for the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett brand is PKN Packaging News, Australia’s leading packaging industry media hub owned by Yaffa Media.
This article was first published in the May-June 2023 print issue of PKN Packaging News, p10.
