A commitment to sustainable packaging

Since 2000, the National Packaging Covenant (Covenant) has been an innovative and unique national approach to dealing with packaging waste. It has engaged the packaging supply and recovery chains, governments and community groups. There was a specific target to divert high-embodied energy materials from landfill and through these activities contribute to a reduction in GHG emissions.

As at June 2010, the Covenant had over 790 signatories, including 750 companies representing an estimated 80% of all packaged retail brands sold in Australia and 90% of the packaging produced in Australia. These signatories represented in the packaging supply chain had a combined annual turnover of more than $160 billion.

From July 2010, the new Australian Packaging Covenant will place greater emphasis on the importance of design in achieving its objective and goals through the implementation of the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPG). These guidelines have been developed to assist companies to review and optimise their packaging and are based around four key principles - that packaging should be:

• Fit-for-purpose;
• Resource efficient;
• Made from low-impact materials; and
• Able to be re-used or recycled at the end of its useful life.

Essentially, companies will be expected to reduce packaging waste at the design stage by minimising materials, optimising recyclability and reducing the potential for litter.

The SPG assists in the design, manufacture and end-of-life management of packaging to meet the sometimes conflicting market demands for performance, cost, consumer protection and the environment. The guidelines explain practical steps to help companies to develop and document their design strategy for sustainable packaging.

The emphasis for company action plans is on how they will implement the SPG. In their action plans all brand owners will be required to include a timetable for review of existing packaging against the guidelines and how they have been used to design new packaging. Signatories are required to report annually on progress against their action plan, including implementation of the SPG.

Companies must document how each of the 12 sustainability strategies in the guidelines have been considered during the packaging design and purchasing processes. The documentation must describe the improvements made or reasons why a particular strategy could not be pursued at that time.

The Covenant Council will oversee an independent audit program of company annual reports to assess whether or not the SPG have been adequately applied in the design and review process. Companies will be expected to maintain and make available records relating to the implementation of action plans and the validation of data submitted in annual reports.

Corrective action may be required where companies are unable to clearly demonstrate the SPG have been implemented. Companies that fail to demonstrate satisfactory commitment and performance through their action plans and annual reports may be deemed non-compliant and possibly subject to the underpinning NEPM regulation.

The Covenant will also continue to focus on improved recycling of packaging, but with a particular emphasis on workplace and public place recycling and litter reduction programs. Industry and government will provide shared funding to undertake targeted activities aimed at increasing the recovery and recycling of used packaging and to reduce litter.

Each year, the Covenant Council will develop and publish project funding priorities and guidelines and will identify strategic projects that will support the achievement of the Covenant’s objective and goals.

With no expiry date in place, the performance of the Australian Packaging Covenant will be evaluated every five years against the achievement of its goals and the outcomes reported to EPHC.

The new Covenant continues the unique nature of this collaborative approach to minimising the environmental impacts of used packaging, this time through the principles of design for sustainability.

For more information on the Australian Packaging Covenant and Sustainable Packaging Guidelines, please go to the website: www.packagingcovenant.org.au.

* Edward Cordner - Chief Executive Officer, National Packaging Covenant.

Cordner has a Bachelor of Science and more than 20 years’ experience in the packaging and paper industries. He commenced as the NPC Executive Officer in May 2003 and has since overseen the evaluation of Covenant Mk I and the development and implementation of the strengthened Covenant Mk II in 2005, as Australia’s primary policy instrument for dealing with used packaging.

In 2008 he successfully coordinated a mid-term review of the Covenant’s progress with the findings being the basis for the development of a Covenant framework for beyond 2010. The result of that work, the new Australian Packaging Covenant, has now been formally endorsed by Ministers and effective from 1 July 2010.