Sustainability Report
JUNE 2023
A Message
From Our CEO
The past year has seen incredible growth for BioPak as we continue to work closely with our valued partners, customers and the wider community to champion circularity across the globe. Our investment in innovation, technology and exploring new markets has been truly exciting. Our recent partnership with Five V Capital is a testament to this growth and underpins a new level of expertise to help BioPak expand into new territories. We have ambitious plans over the coming year for expansion into new sectors, localising manufacture and broadening our global reach to such markets as Asia and North America.
Over the past 12 months, we have also worked closely with regulators to help combat greenwashing that is rife across a range of business sectors. We have a commitment to ensuring our community is aware of misleading claims and will continue to provide education and be a beacon of information to help our community make informed choices.
Moving our attention to research and development, we are incredibly proud of the work and innovation driving the best solutions available to our customers – those that are fit for purpose and put the planet first. A notable mention must be given to BioPak’s aqueous cups that recently hit the market, showcasing revolutionising paper cup capabilities with its water-based coating technology. Together with our plant fibre lids we are the first to release FSC™ certified home compostable cup solution. This type of innovation continues to position BioPak as the market leader in the food service industry, building an extensive portfolio of businesses and partnerships including the nation-wide rollout of cups with plant fibre lids for 7-Eleven, reaching 750+ stores across Australia.
The year also saw serious discussions surrounding BioPak’s approach to reducing our carbon footprint. This resulted in the end of our carbon neutral certification as we look to invest the money we spend on carbon credit into research, education and advocacy to shape real change against climate change. This decision was not taken lightly, however, it was unanimous in our approach that we need to be doing more than simply offsetting our carbon footprint. This has culminated in our Emissions Reduction Plan where we aim to establish a Stewardship Fund to improve the availability and affordability of composting infrastructure in the countries where BioPak operates and continue to support customers through our product stewardship scheme, Compost Connect.
Directing our focus to polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS), we are on track to be the first to release a plant-based fibre assortment of products with no added PFAS by the end of 2023. We will continue to operate with full transparency and work closely with industry bodies and regulators throughout this process.
Single-use plastic bans continue to gain momentum across the world, and our position in support of these initiatives remains strong as we work with government, councils, businesses, and the media to promote sustainable supply chain practices and education on the end-of-life disposal of our products.
Our growth and activities for the next year are incredibly ambitious, and this important work could not be done without our dedicated team of over 200 people and our loyal customers. I would like to thank you for your continued commitment.
Together, we are one step closer to a world without waste.
Gary Smith
BioPak CEO
BioPak By The Numbers
June 22/23:
23,226
Tonnes of
Plastic Avoided
62,134
Tonnes of
Carbon Offset
34,560
Trees
Planted
171,877
Meals
Donated
4,000+
2,800+
280,100
2,041
30
Operating in
Australia, New Zealand
& The United Kingdom
Our People
181
Dedicated staff – 12% increase from last year
7,615
New customer accounts championing compostable products, including:
Our Locations
BioPak was founded in 2006 with the goal of bringing more sustainable single-use packaging alternatives designed for the circular economy to the market. BioPak has grown from strength to strength and has been rapidly embraced by distributors and customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore and this year, the United States.
Give Back Fund
AUD $4,279,696 Donated
As a profit-for-purpose business, we are driven to preserve and protect the environment and give back to our communities. We started the BioPak Give Back Fund in 2012 and have since dedicated our time, energy and a total of AUD $4,279,696 donated to social and environmental restoration initiatives. This amount does not include our purchase of carbon credits for our carbon neutral accreditation.
139,587
Trees Planted or Rescued
Planting trees restore endangered and richly diverse rainforests that sequester carbon from the atmosphere. We support Rainforest Rescue, Greenfleet and Ecologi.
171,877
Meals Donated
Our donations to OzHarvest, KiwiHarvest and Worcester Foodbank have helped them deliver 171,877 meals to people in need across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in the last 12 months.
