PROGRESS REPORT

Responsible Supply Chain

Facilities certifications are one of the critical factors in our partner selection process. Our partner production facilities are certified to internationally recognised food safety standards. The majority of our products are manufactured by ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Standard) certified facilities – and the rest are in the process of applying for certification. We have worked with most of our manufacturing partners for over 10 years and constantly help each other improve quality and innovation. We regularly conduct on-site audits in order to ensure our stringent requirements are met and also to strengthen our business relationships.

Toong Tsang,
Senior Quality Assurance Manager

ISO 14000 Environmental

ISO 14001 Environmental Certification for 80% of our manufacturing facilities.

FSC™/PEFC™ Chain-of-Custody

Fibre products are certified to FSC™ or PEFC™ standards.
(FSC™ C110879 – www.fsc.org)

Social Responsibility Certification

Ethical audits such as (SMETA or BSCI) for all manufacturing partners.

Food Safety Accreditation

All manufacturing partners to comply with local and international food safety regulations.

Our Progress

COMPLETED

Food Safety Management certification

100% of our primary production facilities for intended food contact packaging are under a Food Safety Management System certified scheme.

This year, BioPak UK have achieved BRC certification, a Global Standard proving your competence level in HACCP, hygiene, food safety and quality systems.

ON TRACK

Maintain our ethical monitoring program

We regularly conduct third-party ethical audits (SMETA and BSCI) or our own audits.

Convert to local manufacturing

We are currently investigating local manufacturing options to produce our produce locally in the countries we operate.

Expand the Sustainability and Quality Team

This is an area of significant improvement for us this year with the expansion of our team, business and experience. We have recently hired two new staff, specialising in social auditing and quality assurance.

Increase industry advocacy

Our industry advocacy aims to define best practices and advise policymakers on compostable packaging and end-of-life.

Australia

We are members of several industry bodies in Australia, such as the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA), Australian Packaging Covenant (APCO), Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) and the Australian Institue of Packaging (AIP). In 2022, our founder, Richard Fine, was part of two APCO working groups: the National Packaging Targets Implementation Working Group and the PFAS Action Plan Working Group. In 2023, Lea Maguero, our Head of Sustainability and Richard Fine will be in APCO’s Compostable packaging working group.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, Richard is a member of WasteMinz and part of The Packaging Forum’s PFAS Technical Advisory Group and their Compostable Packaging Advisory Group.

Singapore

In Singapore, we are working closely with the National Environment Agency (NEA), to help educate the public about the issues with plastic use and the more sustainable alternatives.

The United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, we are members of the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA), Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA).

DELAYED

Achieve ISO 14001 Environmental Certification for 80% of our manufacturing facilities

We grew our supply chain considerably last year to mitigate supply chain challenges and address capacity considerations. As a result, we are now working with several manufacturers that are not certified yet but are in the process of obtaining certification. We have created a new supplier scorecard which helps us map out all of our manufacturing partner's environmental and social progress.

Responsible Supply Chain Highlights

Meet the Sustainability & Quality Team

Growing our Sustainability and Quality Team is an area of significant improvement for us this year. We have expanded our business and experience, including promoting Sam Walker from our UK team to Technical Director and hiring Toong Tsang as our Senior Quality Assurance Manager and Celine Garcia as our Sustainability Officer, both based in our Australian office. This year, we will hire a new quality team member, with extensive knowledge and experience in quality assurance testing.

Sam Walker
Technical Director – UK

Toong Tsang
Senior Quality Assurance Manager

Celine Garcia
Sustainability Officer

Beware of Greenwashing and Why Certifications Matter

Certifications demonstrate a company’s commitment to quality, safety and sustainability. It affirms that a company’s claims regarding the products, processes and social impacts have passed specific performance, sustainability and quality assurance tests. Where regulated, robust standards back up claims of environmental impact, it can help consumers and business owners shop (and sell) responsibly.

A recent internet sweep (‘the sweep’) by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) looked at 247 different businesses across 8 sectors. More specifically, they looked at their claims in relation to the environment and sustainability (source).

The sweep found up to 57% of businesses made concerning claims. What’s more, the packaging sector was found to have the most instances of concerning claims.

At BioPak, we’re working to change this.

Raw Materials

End-of-Life

This report and the associated sustainability initiatives include statements concerning BioPak's future business expectations, goals, and commitments to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. It is important to note that these forward-looking statements carry inherent risks and uncertainties. The actual results may deviate from the envisaged outcomes due to various factors, including but not limited to the actions of our suppliers and business partners, the market appetite for certain materials and the availability of end-of-life options. In addition, BioPak relies, either wholly or partially, on publicly available information and data provided by our suppliers and business partners. Further, our ability to verify such information (whether now, in the past, or in the future) may be limited by the integrity of the underlying data available at the relevant point in time and the status and evolution of global, supranational and national laws, guidelines and regulations in relation to the tracking and provision of such data.