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The Australian Packaging Covenant will host a one-day think tank to discuss current barriers to packaging sustainability.

It will bring together experts from industry, government, and academia for the event, called Packaging Sustainability: Innovate, Influence, Inspire, at the Pullman Hotel in Hyde Park, Sydney on 21 February.

They will discuss future opportunities with sustainable design and circular economies, which are key focus areas in the new Covenant five-year strategic plan, falling under APC pillar 1 – resource efficiency.

The event will help launch this new strategic direction and assess tangible, outcomes-focused ways to address these two areas.

Program for the day

The morning will start with two keynote speakers – Dr Leyla Acaroglu (2016 UN Champion of the Earth, designer and change maker) and Rob Gell (geomorphologist and environmental communicator).

Participants will then break into two specialised work streams to tap into the participant knowledge base and crowd-source new ideas on sustainable design, circular economy and soft plastics.

The outcome of these sessions will be a white paper with recommendations which address incorporating sustainable design and dealing with soft plastics in Australia.

Food & Drink Business

The Victorian government has invested $160,000 to support the sustainability and profitability of the state’s wine industry, matched by $240,000 from Wine Australia. The funds will help Wine Victoria to provide the wine industry with the knowledge, tools and resources needed to improve practices and outcomes.

Australian spirits producers had an outstanding showing at the 2025 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) in London, with top scoring producers including 30 Knots Spirits, Australian Distilling Co., Ester Distilling, Mt. Uncle Distillery, Nine Circles Distillery, and Turner Stillhouse.

The recent innovation forum hosted by the Australian Marketing Institute and research company, T Garage, examined the reality for the rapidly evolving landscape of consumer goods that innovation is now table stakes. Experts from three of Australia's Top 100 food and drink companies shared their experiences and confirmed innovation is not just a corporate strategy, but a mindset permeating personal and professional life.