IFPA to host second round of Australasian sustainability summits

The International Fresh Produce Association Australia-New Zealand (IFPA A-NZ) will hold two key sustainability summits in Australia and New Zealand next week.  

Delegates from across the fresh produce supply chain will attend the summits held in Melbourne on 13 August at Pentridge Coburg and Auckland on 15 August at Go Media Stadium. IFPA A-NZ will co-produce the New Zealand Sustainability Summit with United Fresh New Zealand. 

IFPA managing director A-NZ Ben Hoodless said the summits would be the second hosted in Australasia and are among a series of targeted workshops and events on sustainability held since 2020, in response to growing demand from the industry. 

“They will bring together the entire supply chain to hear about a broad range of sustainability journeys from different perspectives,” Hoodless said. “Across the industry people are talking about sustainability, different growers and supply chain participants are at different stages but those who intend to be in the industry for the long term realise they must be engaged in the conversation now.”  

Speakers will cover global sustainability topics including food waste, packaging, regenerative agriculture, trends and innovations, corporate and industry case studies and developing frameworks to mitigate the risks of climate change.  

Keynote speaker, US-based IFPA vice-president of sustainability, Tamara Muruetagoiena will present a global sustainability overview including her insights into the factors driving corporate sustainability agendas. 

Muruetagoiena said New Zealand was setting the pace in global fresh produce sustainability with the Australian industry more aware than ever of the urgent need to act on issues such as packaging, food waste, carbon accounting and regenerative agriculture. 

“Regulators around the world are responding to consumer demands to remove or reduce single use plastics in fresh produce,” she said. “It’s our industry’s responsibility to provide better, more sustainable packaging options that balance food safety, food quality and waste.” 

Zespri International executive officer for sustainability, Rachel Depree, will outline key insights from Zespri’s sustainability journey to date at both summits. 

“Our priorities centre around providing great-tasting, high-quality kiwifruit that deliver on health and wellbeing, while ensuring our packaging meets environmental standards. We’re also focusing on understanding how climate change could impact our supply - all part of future-proofing our industry,” she said. 

“On packaging, we are making steady progress. The percentage of our consumer packaging that is now recyclable, reuseable or compostable is 80 per cent, compared with 70 per cent last season and 66 per cent at baseline.” 

NAVI Co Global chief executive “The Packaging Hippie” Gilad Sadan will present on packaging trends and innovations including his paper bag solutions created to be fully recyclable from home. 

“This innovation came about as a direct response to the challenges posed by the fallout of the REDcycle programme, aiming to offer a sustainable alternative that is both practical and effective,” Sadan said. 

“By integrating sustainability into the core of packaging design, making eco-friendly choices is not just beneficial for the environment but also appealing and practical for consumers.”