Australian packaging innovation will be represented on the global stage after Heliograf and Vert Design were named finalists in the 2026 Sustainability Awards, with their compostable soy sauce fish shortlisted in the Renewables category.
The Sydney-based collaborators have been shortlisted for Holy Carp, a fibre-based, home-compostable alternative to the single-use plastic fish traditionally supplied with takeaway sushi.
Founder of Heliograf, Angus Ware thanked his partners at Vert Design, saying, "We're delighted that Holy Carp is a finalist in The Sustainability Awards, in the Renewables category, alongside some truly inspiring, potentially world-changing designs, materials and innovations."
Organised by Packaging Europe, the Sustainability Awards attracted 352 entries this year, with only 48 innovations making the final shortlist across commercialised products, start-ups, industry initiatives, and research and development projects.
Now in its tenth year, the Sustainability Awards is widely regarded as one of the packaging industry's leading international sustainability competitions.
This year's awards feature a revised category structure designed to better reflect current sustainability priorities, including new categories for Reuse, Digital Transformation and Circular Plastics alongside established categories such as Climate, Renewables and Driving the Circular Economy.
According to Packaging Europe brand director Tim Sykes, the streamlined category structure has made competition even more intense.
“We have reduced the number of categories for general submissions to ten, which makes it even harder than before to be shortlisted for a prize in the world's most competitive packaging sustainability competition, especially as entries continue to grow,” he said.
The finalists reflect the increasingly global nature of sustainable packaging innovation, with shortlisted entries spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Packaging Europe highlighted themes including AI-enabled recycling systems, reusable packaging models, fibre-based materials, biobased coatings and industry-wide collaboration initiatives.
Holy Carp is one of only five innovations shortlisted in the Renewables category, alongside entries from Mondi, PAPACKS, Mpact Corrugated and UPM.
Renewables category finalists
Mondi – Ad/Vantage smooth brown semi extensible kraft paper
PAPACKS – Fiber Box moulded fibre transport packaging for chilled seafood
Heliograf and Vert Design – Holy Carp home-compostable soy sauce fish
Mpact Corrugated – Paper-based pallet column locks
UPM – UPM Circular Renewable Black bio-based, NIR-detectable black pigment
A full list of finalists can be found here.
Winners will be announced at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 10–12 November, where the Sustainability Awards ceremony will form part of the event programme.
