Pact Packaging New Zealand has been named on the NEXT List for the 2025 Sustainable Business Awards in the Transformative Leadership category.
Deanne Holdsworth, executive general manager at Pact Packaging New Zealand, said the recognition reflected the company’s team-wide commitment to reducing packaging waste and advancing recycled packaging solutions.
“Our inclusion on the NEXT List reflects the vision and commitment of our entire team,” Holdsworth said. “We are working to eliminate packaging waste, introduce innovative recycled products, and support industry-wide change. Our goals are ambitious, but we know real progress comes from collaboration and continuous improvement.”
Pact’s circular packaging efforts in New Zealand began in 2015 with a goal to create a tray-to-tray recycling solution for PET thermoformed trays. The company worked with Foodstuffs from 2016 to transition to PET Moisturelock trays, diverting more than 100 million non-recyclable expanded polystyrene trays and soaker pads from landfill each year.
By 2021, Pact began supplying trays made with 50 per cent recycled PET, following the government’s ban on certain single-use plastics. The company continued to develop mono PET trays and welded films to improve recyclability, achieving 100 per cent recyclable status under APCO standards by 2022. In 2024, it produced 200 million new trays containing recycled tray material.
The Sustainable Business Network, which organises the awards, is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest sustainable business organisation. Founded in 2002, the not-for-profit group supports collaboration and advocacy for sustainability across more than 400 member organisations.
The awards ceremony will take place on 20 November.
