In the lead up to World Environment Day (5 June), The Arnott’s Group has released a formal sustainability statement and agenda.
The statement outlines four commitments under the key pillars of Source, Make and Connect:
The four commitments are:
Sustainable Ingredients: Sustainably grow and source 100 per cent of our key ingredients, namely flour, sugar, oils, dairy and cocoa products sustainably by 2035.
The Arnott’s Group sources ingredients and materials for its Australian manufacturing sites from about 140 direct suppliers.
We are committed to local manufacturing, with more than 99 per cent of the products we sell in Australia made in Australia, using local and imported ingredients.
Today, Arnott's is the largest buyer of soft wheat in Australia.
Net-zero climate impact: Achieve net-zero emissions in our operations by 2040, and across the value chain by 2050.
Waste Footprint – Only 2.76% of the total waste generated from our sites in 2020 was sent to landfill.
Circular Packaging: Reduce, reuse or repurpose 10 per cent of the plastic packaging we use by 2025 and meet the 2025 recyclability targets set by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO).
Packaging Impact - The global consumer food and packaging industries face an enormous challenge in securing sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging and design while also protecting the provenance of food products. The ANZ Arnott’s Group purchased over 20,000 tonnes of packaging in FY20 alone, in packing our food and products for customers.
Over 98 per cent of The Arnott’s Group ANZ packaging is technically recyclable (or 75 per cent on a consumer unit basis). This includes all plastics, cardboard and can formats.
Within our soft plastics portfolio, on a weight basis, about 73 per cent of the packaging is recyclable.
The Arnott’s Group has established a new sustainable packaging strategy containing initiatives and targets across the entire packaging value chain, from design, production and use of packaging, through disposal and recovery, to promote the use of recycled material and the circular economy.
Thriving Communities: Increase choice, opportunity and wellbeing by promoting inclusion and belonging, supporting communities and providing more diverse food options and guidance on nutrition.
Gender composition of Arnott’s workforce is at 49 per cent women and 51 per cent men and in its extended leadership team level is 45 per cent women and 55 per cent men.
58 per cent of promotions in the last 12 months were female.
Flexible working arrangements and working arrangements supporting carers policies, strategies and processes to help reduce sex-based harassment and discrimination.
Arnott’s said the strategy is part of its business transformation, led by the company’s chief transformation officer Simon Lowden.
Lowden said the global food system was responsible for creating a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.
“A more sustainable food system is vital for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. At The Arnott’s Group we recognise that to build a more sustainable food system in Australia we must make change ourselves and inspire our consumers and our partners to do the same,” Lowden said.
The focus will be on areas where Arnott’s can have, “the most immediate and meaningful impact across our supply chain, through the sourcing of our ingredients, the manufacturing of our products and the connection we have with our people, our customers and our communities,” he said.
