Highlights:
- Brownes Dairy will be the first company in Australia to use Tetra Pak’s unbleached renewable milk cartons in Australia.
- The milk cartons are made from renewable plant-based materials; sustainably sourced, and chain of custody certified
- Approximately 5 million litres of milk will now be packed into these renewable 1L cartons.
- For more information about the renewable milk cartons, check out the FAQs here.
MEDIA RELEASE, March 2022:
Brownes Dairy, an iconic West Australian brand, has announced its latest step to lead sustainability in the dairy industry with the change to more environmentally-friendly cartons.
Brownes Dairy’s farm fresh white milk, known and loved for many decades, will now come in environmentally-friendly craft board.
The eye-catching packaging is a natural brown colour which requires less processing. These cartons are also lighter than previous cartons, meaning less material is used to pack the same amount of nutritious milk.
“Brownes Dairy scoured the planet in search of the most sustainable milk carton packaging on the market. We were the first to make the switch to materials derived from sugar cane several years ago, but now our consumers can actually see that the carton is made from a renewable source that has a lower carbon impact to climate change,” said Brownes CEO Natalie Sarich-Dayton.
By switching to plant-based polyethylene material in the cartons , the carbon footprint of this packaging is reduced by 16% over regular milk cartons. The plant-based cartons also removes reliance on fossil-based polyethylene in the packages.
“Brownes Dairy wants to ensure that the next generation of Australian families not only get to enjoy the goodness and freshness of our products, but they can do so knowing we use the most sustainable milk cartons available,” said Mrs Sarich-Dayton.
While the rollout of Brownes’ white milk products in the most sustainable packaging available is new, the product inside remains exactly the same. It is all part of the company’s focus on sustainability in addition to its ongoing commitment to provide the best fresh milk for growing Australian families.
As part of its sustainability focus, Brownes has partnered with Trillion Trees Australia, an environmental restoration not-for-profit organisation, to contribute to the Trillion Trees Challenge of planting a trillion trees to help address climate change through ecosystem restoration. The community-based organisation has been active since 1979 in Western Australia and has planted more than 15 million native trees alongside 80,000 volunteers.
In 2014, it achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous planting of trees – 104,450 planted in 1 hour.
Trillion Trees Australia CEO, Denise True said the organisation was delighted that an iconic Australian brand such as Brownes was actively doing its part in creating a more sustainable future.
“As Australia’s oldest dairy company, it is fantastic to work with Brownes on their journey towards a sustainable responsible organisation,” said Trillion Trees Australia Denise True.
Brownes has long understood that packaging is a way to empower consumers and was the first to market with the innovative Tetra Pak plant-based cartons made from renewable materials back in 2019.
“There is a lot of focus on recycling at the moment, but in reality over 99% of packaging impacts to climate change has occurred before products hit the shelves. To make a real contribution to reducing the impact on climate change then whole life cycle of consumer product needs to be considered; including the source, manufacturing and transport.” said Tetra Pak managing director Andrew Pooch.
This carton is 100% recyclable, and Tetra Pak are actively working with Government and other partners to improve on shore recycling capability. In partnership with the NSW Government and Closed Loop, Tetra have invested in a recycling facility that turns everyday household waste such as milk cartons into building products. Opening in late 2022, this is the first of many new initiatives to improve Australia’s recycling capability on shore.
Studies suggest 90% of Australian consumers are concerned about sustainability[1] with all age segments having the view that businesses and brands should be most responsible for the impact on the environment.
Since 2016, Brownes has also been an active signatory of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), which is a packaging value chain that collaborates to keep packaging materials out of landfill and retains the maximum value of the materials, energy, and labour within the local economy.
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About Brownes Dairy
Brownes Dairy is Australia’s oldest dairy company, established in 1886. Brownes Dairy operates out of its main site in Balcatta with a second site in Brunswick collecting about 150 million litres of milk each year from more than 50 dairy farms located in WA’s South West. Brownes Dairy has a diverse portfolio of dairy including milk, cream, yoghurt, flavoured milk, juice and desserts. Brownes Dairy was named as one of the country’s most innovative companies as part of the Australian Financial Review’s 2019 BOSS annual awards, and was the only dairy company to make the list.
About Trillion Trees Australia
Trillion Trees Australia (formerly known as Men of The Trees) is a self-funding not-for-profit organisation founded in 1979 with a mission to restore degraded land, support biodiversity, and encourage the growth of healthy tree canopies in both urban and rural settings. It has planted more than 15 million native trees and understory to improve biodiversity, combat salinity and soil erosion. https://trilliontrees.org.au/
Media Contact
Heidi Cuthbert
heidi.cuthbert@multiplier.com.au
+61 411 272 366
[1] https://breakdownthebeast.com/report.pdf
