Sustainability

Our products do not cost the earth in the way that bio-based plastics have the unique advantage over conventional plastics to reduce the dependency on limited fossil resources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They can also be turned back into nutritious compost where facilities exist – supporting a circular economy where there is no waste. BioPak strives to minimise any negative impacts our business has on the environment. 

Ingeo™ bioplastic: Using Ingeo™ reduces raw materialCO2 emissions by 80% compared to regular plastic resin.

Paper and wood: Sustainably sourced from managed plantations and made from FSC™ certified sources wherever possible.

Sugarcane pulp: By-product of the sugar refining industry, which is both rapidly renewable and sustainably sourced.

No, we do not use any palm oil or palm derivatives in any of our products.

Traditional plastics, which are made from fossil fuels, are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why we focus on natural, renewable, and fully compostable materials for our packaging. We are a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur New Plastics Economy commitment, the NZ Plastic Packaging Declaration, and an active member of the APCO working groups dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for the packaging industry. We have publicly pledged to remove plastic from our range by 2025.

We are working relentlessly on phasing out any remaining plastics in our portfolio and adopting new materials as soon as they are commercially viable for our customers.

If consumers are choosing to pay more to reduce their environmental impact then it’s our job – as manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers – to honour that. We must all ensure our products live up to the environmental claims and offer a real environmental benefit – not just lip service that makes consumers feel good whilst inadvertently continuing to pollute the environment.

Environmental claims around biodegradability are often used in ways that are confusing or misleading with certification often omitted and time frames to decompose undefined, so it is important to back up any claims with third-party certification.

At BioPak, we only make real-world environmental and sustainability claims that can be independently verified through a robust and rigorous scientific process. We go to great lengths to ensure our packaging products align with the principles of a circular economy, and our compostable products are certified to Australian and international standards.

For more information, visit "BioPak product and facility certifications" website.

Most BioPak products are certified industrially compostable to the European EN13432 compost standard. EN13432 requires that the product disintegrates after 12-weeks in industrial compost conditions and completely biodegrades after six months. That means that 90 per cent or more of the material will have been converted to CO2 and the remaining share is converted into water and biomass.

The Australia compostability certification is the same as European Union (EU) with the addition of an earthworm eco-toxicity test.

ISO 14000 is a series of environmental management standards developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for organizations. The ISO 14000 standards provide a guideline or framework for organizations that need to systematize and improve their environmental management efforts.

ISO 22000 is a food safety management system that can be applied to any organisation in the food chain, farm to fork. ISO 22000 standards require that business have a food safety management system in place.

The ISO 9000 quality management system standards are designed to help organisations ensure that they meet statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service.

With so many packaging products made from paper, it’s important to ensure our forests are not irreparably damaged in the creation of paper-based packaging. The Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) is an international non-profit that acts to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. BioPak is FSC certified to ensure the paper-based packaging we create is produced in a sustainable manner, with minimal environmental impact. 

When you click on ‘read full report’ in the bottom right corner of the Environmental Impact Label, you’ll be taken to a more detailed ‘Environmental Impact Report.’ This expands on the label and provides a summary of the environmental footprint per carton of that particular packaging product.

BioPak’s Environmental Impact Report includes: 

• Total carbon footprint – the total greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of all the activities completed to create that product (across the entire life cycle). Carbon footprint is expressed as CO2-eq, a metric that translates all greenhouse gases into the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. 
• Carbon footprint (per lifecycle phase) – a breakdown of the greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere across each different stage: material stage, product stage, transport stage and end of life stage. This is expressed as CO2-eq (and the sum of these stages gives us total carbon footprint). 
• Total eco-cost – a concept that places a monetary value on the environmental costs of a product (note: this is not an additional fee in our products). The eco-costs are calculated using four impact categories.
• Eco-cost (broken down into four impact categories) – the eco-cost is independently calculated across four categories: biodiversity loss, effects on human health, material scarcity, as well as the more standard carbon emissions.
• Eco-costs (per product stage) – the environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle of a product – including the material stage, product stage, transport stage and end of life stage. 
• Eco-score – an overall score based on the eco-costs model. There are 9 possible eco scores ( A+, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) – with A+ having the lowest eco-cost per kg of material and G having the highest eco-cost per kg of material. These can be used to compare products in similar categories. 

Learn more about Environmental Impact Reports here.

To get our Environmental Impact Reports we partner with Pickler, an environmental impact calculation software for packaging. Pickler uses a unique, completely transparent Life Cycle Assessment-based method to make science-based and credible footprint calculations. 

Yes. Pickler’s methodology is compliant with ISO 14008 (monetary valuation of environmental impacts and related environmental aspects). The IDEMAT reference database and data calculations are also in compliance with ISO 14040, 14044, EN15804, and the LCA handbook of the ILCD. 

Product Life Cycle Assessment results can only be compared with products that are using the same life cycle stages, methodology and assumptions. This allows for accurate comparisons that combat greenwashing. Therefore, Pickler users can compare their results with other Pickler users. This also means customers can compare different BioPak products. 

Carbon footprint is a simple way to communicate our impact on climate change, either as an individual, group, or company. It’s essential to understanding and minimising our impact on the planet. 

Because every greenhouse gas has a different potency and ‘global warming potential’ (GWP) – we convert the effects of other gases (like methane and nitrous oxide) into the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. This is CO2-eq. 

Every BioPak product now has an Environmental Impact Label. When you click on ‘read full report’ in the bottom right corner of the Environmental Impact Label, you’ll be taken to a more detailed ‘Environmental Impact Report.’ You’ll find a section in this report that outlines the CO2-eq. 

Carbon footprint is calculated across the entire life cycle – that includes the extraction of raw materials, production, transport, and finally, the end of life disposal. This is often referred to as Life Cycle Assessment (more on this in the section below).

Carbon footprint is a valuable metric – but it shouldn’t be used in isolation. Becoming tunnel-visioned and focusing solely on carbon footprint can overlook other important factors, like the impact on human health and biodiversity. It’s important that we look beyond carbon footprint and take a holistic view of a product’s impact.

Eco-costs place a monetary value on the environmental costs of a product (calculated per carton of product). It’s the ‘price’ nature and society pay to produce a product, calculated across four categories: biodiversity loss, effects on human health, material scarcity and carbon emissions. 

This gives customers a straightforward metric to understand and compare the environmental impacts of our products. 

Note: it’s a concept and a guide, not a hidden or added fee to the product's market price.

No, eco-costs aren’t included in the price of our products. It’s up to us to reduce our product’s impact on the environment. 

Eco-costs are calculated per carton of product because this is how they’re sold. 

Eco-costs allow us to understand our impact on the environment so we can work to reduce it. By using four key categories (biodiversity loss, effects on human health, material scarcity and carbon emissions) we can gain a rounded view of a product’s impact – rather than becoming ‘tunnel-visioned’ and focusing solely on one factor, like carbon footprint.

It’s a complex calculation (made simple for the end-consumer) because we are essentially converting carbon footprint, resource scarcity, impact on biodiversity and impact on human health into the same ‘metric’. 

Using a Life Cycle Assessment method, the individual results for each separate category are called ‘midpoint indicators’. The eco-cost system used in Pickler was created by the foundation Sustainability Impact Metrics (a spin-off of the Technical University of Delft). It adds a monetary value to each midpoint indicator, allowing us to add up the values into four main categories. When we add these up, we get the total environmental cost of a product. This gives us a simple, digestible figure. 

An eco score is an overall score based on the eco-costs model. There are 9 possible eco scores ( A+, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) with A+ having the lowest eco-cost per kg of material, and G having the highest eco-cost per kg of material. These can be used to compare products in similar categories.

Greenhouse gas emissions (like carbon) trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and exacerbate global warming – a colossal problem in today’s world. The concept of ‘carbon footprint’ is a simple way to communicate our impact on the climate. 

A product’s carbon footprint refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of all the activities completed to create that product (across the entire life cycle). Carbon footprint is expressed as CO2-eq – a metric that translates all greenhouse gases into the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. 

At BioPak, we’re working to reduce our carbon footprint through our Emissions Reduction Plan. Instead of allocating 1% of our profits to carbon offsets, we are channelling these funds into our Emissions Reduction Plan – supporting research, education, and advocacy projects that promote composting in our markets. It’s not a step back but a leap forward. 

Read about our Emissions Reduction Plan. 

At BioPak, we prioritise rapidly renewable, plant-based resources, designed for the circular economy. 

For example, we use bagasse (also known as sugarcane pulp) which is an agricultural bioproduct after the sugarcane plant is harvested for its juice. The sugarcane pulp to make our products would otherwise be sent to landfill. What’s more, sugarcane is a rapidly renewable and widely available resource due to its fast-growing nature and ability to be harvested annually.

We also use FSC™ certified paper and birchwood for things like straws and cutlery. The Forest Stewardship Council™ is a non-profit organisation that acts to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

Economic activities to create products, like deforestation and pollution of soil, water and landscapes, can negatively impact biodiversity. That’s why we work to reduce our impact on biodiversity. 

We choose to use rapidly renewable, plant-based resources, designed for the circular economy – like FSC™ certified paper and birchwood. Our products are designed to be composted at the end of life, which diverts food and organic waste from landfill and turns it into nutrient-rich compost instead. This compost can then be used to grow more plants. We also help to compost as much of our products as possible via our not-for-profit composting platform, Compost Connect. 

We also donate 5% of our profits to social and environmental charities. Since 2012, we’ve donated our time, energy and a total of $4.7 million – including planting or rescuing 90,947 trees through Rainforest Rescue 

This impact category covers how the creation of a product can affect human health, specifically in relation to diseases. 

PFAS (AKA forever chemicals) are found in almost everything. BioPak has discovered PFAS in a small range of BioCane products. We’re moving quickly to completely phase out PFAS in our production – this will make us the first in our industry.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyses a product or service throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal. This gives us a holistic view of its overall environmental impacts.

Considering the entire life cycle of a product is essential in reducing the total environmental impact. For example, imagine if we only considered the environmental impact of manufacturing our coffee cups – we would then be disregarding the raw material extraction and the way it’s disposed of at the end of its life.

Using Pickler’s Life Cycle Assessment methodology, a product’s life cycle stages include:

• Raw material extraction
• Manufacturing
• Use phase*
• End of life
• Transportation (throughout the life cycle)

*BioPak doesn’t factor in this phase – the use phase of our products does not create any additional emissions (unlike other products, like cars or electric appliances). 

When you click on the ‘read full report’ link, you’ll be taken to the environmental impact report. Here, you’ll find a summary of the environmental footprint (carbon footprint and eco-costs) of the packaging at every stage of its life cycle. 

When we talk about our Life Cycle Assessment, we also have to consider what we’re analysing. This is where eco-costs and carbon footprint come in. 

Eco-costs are a concept that places a monetary value on the environmental costs of a product (note: this is not an additional fee for our products). Eco-costs are broken down into four key categories: carbon footprint, impact on biodiversity, impact on human health, and impact on material scarcity (requested by European legislation). These categories are what goes into our Life Cycle Assessment. 

Learn more about eco-costs. 

Life Cycle Assessments give us invaluable data to help individuals, companies and industries understand their impact – and this is the first step to reducing it.