Salmon company Tassal has been recognised in a national survey published in BRW as the Most Respected Industry Leader in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in the country.The study to rank Australia’s most respected companies was conducted by global management consulting company Hay Group for BRW. Hay Group received responses to an online survey from businesses across 20 industries. Participants were asked to nominate organisations they respected across all industries and to rate... ...Read more »

The Northern Territory Government’s proposed container deposit legislation (CDL) will have a significant cost for consumers, according the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC). AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said the idea that the Territory Government’s proposed CDL legislation – the Environmental Protection (Beverage Containers and Plastic Bags) Bill 2010 – is a “free option” is completely misleading. “The NT CDL scheme will have enormously high... ...Read more »

Global consumer goods company Unilever today announced plans to decouple future growth from environmental impact. At the London launch of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, CEO Paul Polman explained: “We have ambitious plans to grow the company. But growth at any price is not viable. We have to develop new ways of doing business which will ensure that our growth does not come at the expense of the world’s diminishing natural resources.” He also announced plans to help over 1 billion people... ...Read more »

Tasmanian Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage, David O’Byrne, yesterday annouced plans to take a proposal to Cabinet to implement a ban on lightweight plastic bags. “The Government is committed to reducing the impact of lightweight plastic bags on the environment, addressing littering and to increasing resource recovery and recycling,” O’Byrne said. “We have listened to the community’s concerns over these issues and they are telling us they want to see action.” Mr O’Byrne... ...Read more »

A symbol to show consumers that products contain “sustainable” palm oil was launched yesterday (9 November).The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) unveiled the trademark at its annual meeting in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The RSPO said the logo will mean consumers can “easily distinguish” products that contain palm oil sourced following the organisation’s rules. “The RSPO trademark will reassure consumers that products they buy contribute to sustainable... ...Read more »

SABMiller, one of the world’s largest brewers, has predicted how its breweries may look in the future, given a range of different scenarios determined by the cost and availability of water and energy.Working with innovation consultancy, Innovia Technology, SABMiller envisioned four plausible business environments, based on the different uncertainties facing the brewing industry over the next 30 years. These scenarios informed thinking around how the ‘Brewery of the Future’ might look... ...Read more »

Australia’s Environment Ministers’ acknowledgement that a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) into national measures to reduce litter will be wider than just beverage containers has been welcomed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) today.Following the release of an Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) Communiqué, AFGC said it was encouraging that the focus of the RIS was not solely on beverage containers but more broadly about litter reduction and resource recovery. “Clearly... ...Read more »

SecondBite was awarded the prestigious Banksia Community Grant award at the 2010 Banksia Environmental Awards presentation in Sydney on Friday night. The Banksia Community Grant recipient is chosen from all community entrants and is awarded to the community group that shows the most potential to create a lasting and positive impact. As the winner SecondBite received a $10,000 grant. Katy Barfield, Executive Director of SecondBite said in her acceptance speech that in the short five years since SecondBite... ...Read more »

General Mills, the US company behind brands like Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Nature Valley snack bars, has set a target of using only “palm oil from responsible and sustainable sources” by 2015.The company said its use of palm oil was “modest” and accounted for around 0.1% of its production. However, General Mills believes companies like itself could have an impact on the issue. “We acknowledge that responsible users of even small amounts of ingredients can impact issues... ...Read more »

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced today that Austral Fisheries’ and Australian Longline’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) toothfish fishery has entered full assessment for MSC certification.To be conducted by independent certification body Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the assessment will evaluate the Southern Ocean fishery against the MSC standard for well-managed and sustainable fisheries, which examines the sustainability of the fish stock, the environmental... ...Read more »