The Australian Packaging Covenant

The Australian Packaging Covenant formerly known as the National Packaging Covenant aims to manage the environmental impacts of packaging in Australia. It is a voluntary component of a co regulatory arrangement based on the principles of shared responsibility through product stewardship, between key stakeholders in the packaging supply chain and all spheres of government – Australian, State, Territory and Local. For more information on the Australian Packaging Covenant go to https://apco.org.au/.

Covenant signatories are committed to reduce the environmental impacts arising from the disposal of used packaging, conserve resources through improved design and production processes and facilitate the re-use and recycling of used packaging materials. Its continuous improvements are demonstrated by each Covenant signatories in their annual submission of Action Plans and Annual Reports to the Covenant Council.

Our Environmental Commitment

San Remo has since its early days understood the direct relationship between environmentally sustainable practices for manufacturing and sound financial management. Where possible, the company has minimised packaging while ensuring packaging safety and integrity, and utilised recycled content in packaging components.

Becoming a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant in February 2008 and continuing this involvement with the Australian Packaging Covenant, we are now able to formalise and return valuable data that can be used for future improvements in packaging and to contribute to the achievement of the national targets set out in the Covenant.

San Remo is committed to contribute to a better environment and apply environmental best practices for its business. In line with the Australian Packaging Covenant principles, we aim to:

  • reduce environmental impact of consumer goods packaging in the waste stream
  • conserve resources through improved packaging design and production processes
  • re-use and promote recycling of used packaging materials

Waste Management

In the financial year 2008/2009, a project was run with the aim of improving our management of the various waste streams created during the production process. The goal was to reduce the level of waste going to landfill. This was carried out by first improving our separation of waste so that materials that could be recycled were more fully recovered and sent for recycling. Secondly, by reducing the overall level of waste produced.

The result from this project was a significant reduction in our general waste, reducing by over 37% a month. This equates to a reduction of approximately 1440 tonnes of waste going to landfill in a calendar year. San Remo has maintained these recycling processes and the reduction in waste has been maintained in the years since.

Raw Materials – Packaging

San Remo will continue where possible to use both packaging made in full or in part from recycled materials and or/packaging that is in turn post consumer recyclable.

To read more about the Australian Packaging Covenant, please visit The Australian Packaging Covenant.