A clear focus on the circular economy has lifted a supermarket and a packaging manufacturer to the top of the Financial Review Sustainability Leaders list.
, and partnered with more than 15 companies to help the retailer meet a series of environmental goals, such as its 2050 net zero emissions target, the switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 and a commitment to put no food waste to landfill by 2025.
Woolworths now uses 50 million reusable crates a year and estimates the program has resulted in the reduction of 23,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 196,000 litres of water over 12 months. Planet Protector Packaging’s wool liners are inserted into cardboard boxes, which hold their shape, but can be flat packed for storage.
Planet Protector Packaging has 350 customers in Australia and New Zealand and is expanding into India. Australasia accounts for 1.3 per cent of the global packaging market, a far cry from the 46 per cent represented by Southeast Asia. “We’re headed for India. They make 60 per cent of the world’s pharmaceuticals,” notes Howarth.
“We looked at what is the purpose of a mutual organisation, and we think its contribution to community and to society as well. And then [we looked at] what value we can create in the community,” Mann says, adding that Australian Unity has not yet articulated any goals or targets when it comes to social impact.
Mann says the framework is applicable to other mutuals and Australian Unity has shown its valuation framework to the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals. But, he notes, the framework is in its early days and there is much more to come.
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