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Will sustainability strides of 2021 continue in 2022?

By Natalie Martin on January 17th, 2022 in Circular Economy, Food and beverage, News
sustainability-food-shopping

The past few years, and 2021 in particular, have seen the food and beverage industry in New Zealand working hard to increase its sustainability – both customer-facing and back of house.

This has come as consumers demand more ethical and sustainable options and practices, Government announces proposed action around new legislation and regulations, and many industry members show they are eager to lead in the sustainability space.

In terms of Government action, in the past year alone there have been significant signals that it’s going to not only use current legislation but make amendments and strengthen legislation to tackle problematic packaging materials and organic waste.

We saw the release of the Government’s National Plastics Action Plan in September, and the more recent consultations on the emissions reduction plan and proposals for a new waste strategy and legislation, in November. While these cover broad areas needing action, they all have relevance to the food and beverage industry.

The industry has also stepped up with a number of innovations, with work especially going into tackling packaging. Using recycled material for all or part of new packaging has been a particular focus as has simplifying packaging to use one type of material.  Other innovations, such as redesigning bulk transport packaging using cardboard rather than polystyrene has shown there are significant gains to be made from research and development.

We’ve also seen industry organisations investigating compostable packaging, and recyclability labelling, as well as their members pledging to make their packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

The 2025 target is ambitious – only a couple years away – but with action being taken by Government and industry I can see it being achieved. The road to achieving it isn’t simple. For example, a company can make all its packaging recyclable but if the collection and processing infrastructure doesn’t exist the goal of keeping it from landfill won’t be achieved.

Co-operation is therefore key, both between Government and business, and between industry organisations.

This year is sure to feature even more innovation and sustainable solutions and, hopefully, investment in infrastructure to support reuse and recycling, and I’m eager to see what it brings.

This is the ninth in a series written for NZ Food Technology.

Natalie Martin is 3R Group’s Materials Innovation Manager
Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn

Previous Cover of 3R's sustainable development goals report

Risk and Reward: Why do a sustainable development report?

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ISO 14001:2015

Environmental management systems and safe work practices.

ISO 14001:2015 is an internationally recognised standard that certifies our commitment to environmental management systems and safe work practices.

Consistent with our environmental policy, the intended outcomes of our environmental management system include:

  • The enhancement of environmental performance;
  • The fulfilment of compliance obligations;
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Our ISO 14001:2015 certification includes 3R Operations, the Paint Product Stewardship Programmes, ChemCollect Service and the SeatSmart Child Car Seat Recycling Programme (owned and operated by 3R).

This certification is audited by TELARC.

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Keeping our people safe, healthy and happy.

ISO 45001:2018 certification has been chosen to demonstrate the importance we place in caring for our people as we bring to life our values of Kaitiakitanga and Manaakitanga.

Keeping our team safe, healthy and happy is a primary focus for our business. We feel that the work our operations staff do makes this particularly important. Their responsibilities can include collecting and processing paint; collecting chemicals; driving trucks around the country; and getting hands-on with work wherever needed.

3R received ISO 45001:2018 certification in 2021. The ISO 45001:2018 certificate is valid for 3 years and includes annual surveillance audits which provide a valuable framework for further growth.

What is a circular economy?

New Zealand is “one of the highest generators of waste per person in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)”. The way we currently produce and manage our waste is not sustainable.

The current economy in New Zealand is linear: this equates to a process of take-make-use-dispose. The aim of the government is to move towards a circular economy.

A circular economy can refer to either biological or technical materials.

With biological materials, the cycle could be defined as make-consume-enrich. In this cycle waste returns to the environment and enriches the land.

A technical materials cycle may be more like make-use-return. In a technical materials cycle waste is repurposed and used to make something new.

Whether you need help with biological materials, technical materials, or both; 3R can partner with your business to assess your current waste, then help you reduce it.