The PKN Women in Packaging Sustainability Leader award honours a woman who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to sustainability in the ANZ packaging industry. This award recognises initiatives such as reducing packaging waste, promoting recyclability, advocating for eco-friendly materials, or implementing circular packaging practices. The 2025 finalists are:
Belinda Chellingworth, BC Consulting
Belinda Chellingworth, founder and principal consultant of BC Consulting, has dedicated over 25 years to driving sustainable packaging innovation across government, corporate, and community sectors. A champion of transparency, education, and life cycle thinking, she has led initiatives that directly reduce packaging waste, promote reuse, and push for science-backed decision-making in the packaging industry.
Belinda’s impact spans notable projects including Australia’s first office reusable cup system at GPT Group, introducing soft plastics recycling at regional Australia Post outlets, and implementing the City of Sydney’s public reverse vending machines, a precursor to the NSW Container Deposit Scheme, which has since recovered over 10 billion containers. She also played a pivotal role in publishing Australia Post’s packaging Life Cycle Assessment and mentoring emerging sustainability start-ups.
Challenges have been met with strategic communication and collaboration from overcoming stakeholder concerns in public space projects to navigating complex logistics in regional recycling pilots. Her influence extends to media, education, and policy, having reached over five million people and advised thousands through consulting, conferences, and community initiatives. Belinda continues to shift industry norms toward a more circular, data-driven future for packaging in Australia and New Zealand.
Brooke Percy, Amcor
Brooke Percy, quality assurance systems manager at Amcor Flexibles, is a finalist in the Sustainability Leader category for her instrumental role in achieving ISCC Plus certification across all Amcor sites in Australia and New Zealand.
This certification enables the use of verified circular content in packaging for major brands like Cadbury, Schmackos and Tip Top, reducing virgin plastic use by hundreds of tonnes. Brooke’s cross-functional leadership, from IT integration to audit navigation, is driving a meaningful shift toward a circular packaging economy in the region.
Deanne Holdsworth, Pact Group
Deanne Holdsworth, executive general manager of Pact Packaging New Zealand, has led pioneering sustainability initiatives across the Australasian packaging sector. She championed the move to a mono PET tray and lid solution for meat products, an innovation that made the trays 100 per cent recyclable through kerbside collection. The closed-loop system means trays are collected, recycled, and reintegrated into new trays, significantly reducing plastic waste. Her work included partnering with Hilton Foods and Multivac to successfully transition from PET/PE combination materials to mono PET in 2021.
Deanne also played a key role in establishing New Zealand’s caps and lids product stewardship scheme after changes to kerbside recycling threatened to remove these items from collection. Her leadership has driven the adoption of circular economy practices, set new sustainability benchmarks, and inspired industry-wide change in packaging design and recycling.
Jacky Nordsvan, Nestle
Jacky Nordsvan, Recycling Systems lead at Nestlé, has played a pivotal role in the Circular Pacific Plastic (CPP) initiative, a groundbreaking project focused on soft plastics recovery in remote regions of Australia and the Pacific. Led by the Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Island Plastics Pact (ANZPAC), CPP aims to develop sustainable, region-specific solutions for recycling in areas with limited infrastructure, starting with Fiji as a pilot market. Jacky’s expertise and systems approach have been key in testing alternative recovery options and small-scale processing solutions, ensuring that soft plastics are diverted from landfills and reintroduced into local economies.
Through her efforts, over two tonnes of soft plastics were recovered in just four months, demonstrating the feasibility of these solutions in challenging environments. Jacky’s leadership has also laid the foundation for scalable models that can be applied to other remote regions, driving the development of self-sustaining, local recycling systems. Her work is helping to establish a resilient and environmentally responsible packaging sector across Australia and New Zealand, setting the stage for a broader adoption of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiatives.
Jasmine Medwell, Woolworths Group Pty Ltd
With a 25-year legacy in sustainable packaging, Jasmine Medwell has led systemic industry change across Australia and New Zealand. As head of Planet at Woolworths Group, Jasmine drove the delivery of bold packaging targets, achieving 100 per cent ARL labelling on Own Brand products two years ahead of schedule, cutting virgin plastic use by 31 per cent, and removing over 1000 tonnes of problematic packaging.
She established the Woolworths Packaging Supplier Council, bringing together suppliers, government and commercial teams to share ideas, tackle challenges, and accelerate change. Under her leadership, the group reached an average of 51 per cent recycled content in packaging, a full year before the national target.
Jasmine also played a key role in reducing food waste and advancing PFAS phase-outs, while supporting the group’s electric vehicle strategy. Her ability to unify multiple business units and manage over 80,000 SKUs across Woolworths, Big W and New Zealand shows her strategic influence. In 2024, Jasmine was elected as APCO Retail Director, affirming her position as an industry leader.
Kate Baker, Visy
Kate Baker, general manager of Circular Economy & Sustainability at Visy, is leading innovative initiatives to advance sustainability in packaging. Her signature project, Re-In-Can-Ation, is an industry-first beverage can made with 83 per cent recycled content and reduced carbon emissions by 59 per cent. This project brought together Visy, Rio Tinto, Novelis, and Lion to create a can that is both eco-friendly and locally manufactured. By using low-carbon aluminium and promoting circular packaging practices, Kate’s leadership is transforming the food and beverage sector.
The Re-In-Can-Ation project is expected to produce 15 million cans over 18 months, saving 1,235 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Through this initiative, Kate is driving a broader understanding of sustainability, encouraging higher recycling rates, and reducing reliance on virgin materials. Her commitment to supply chain collaboration is setting a new standard for the industry.
Kate faced challenges in coordinating large companies and managing sensitive data, but her transparent leadership and focus on mutual trust helped overcome these hurdles. She successfully maintained open communication and ensured the accuracy of environmental claims, proving that collaboration can achieve significant sustainability outcomes.
Olivia Tyler, IVE Group
Olivia Tyler, chief People & Sustainability officer at IVE Group, has been a pivotal leader in driving sustainability within the Australian and New Zealand packaging industry. Under her leadership, IVE has developed an ambitious Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy that integrates sustainability into every aspect of the business. Olivia’s efforts have focused on increasing recyclability, using recycled content, and promoting eco-friendly materials across packaging. Over 70 per cent of IVE's packaging is now kerbside recyclable, and the use of recycled content has increased by 40 per cent. Her work has directly contributed to diverting over 6,000 tonnes of packaging waste from landfill annually.
Olivia's influence extends beyond IVE, as she has helped over 200 brand owners transition to sustainable packaging formats, setting new standards for the industry. By leading cultural change through education and transparency, she has fostered a shift towards long-term sustainability across the packaging sector. Olivia’s work has encouraged both brands and suppliers to prioritise environmental performance, making sustainability a core business function. Her efforts have reshaped industry perceptions, ensuring that sustainability is now embedded in packaging design, production, and procurement.
Vinotha Bheem, Bunnings Group
Vinotha Bheem, packaging specialist at Bunnings, led the successful phase-out of expanded polystyrene (EPS) across the company’s private label and direct-sourced products. In alignment with APCO targets and state bans, she developed a comprehensive supplier framework including training videos, compliance templates, and detailed data registers rolled out to over 1,150 suppliers globally.
Vinotha ran direct consultations with suppliers to guide them through the transition, troubleshoot alternatives, and secure full engagement. Her work has already diverted more than 33 tonnes of EPS per year from landfill and oceans equivalent to filling 50 twenty-foot shipping containers and has set a new industry benchmark for scalable phase-out programs.
She also enhanced the Bunnings Sustainable Packaging Guidelines and arranged site visits to showcase circular material recovery, inspiring internal and external stakeholders alike. Through her initiative, suppliers have praised the clarity, simplicity and impact of the program, which also streamlines regulatory compliance and fosters innovation in packaging design.
Vinotha’s hands-on, solutions-driven approach has created lasting impact across the supply chain and the wider industry.
The 2025 winners will be announced at the PKN Women in Packaging Awards Lunch on 27 June, to be held at 12-Micron, Barangaroo. Keynote speaker will be Brenda Denbesten. Tickets are on sale here, with limited space at the venue it is advisable to book soon as we anticipate a sold-out event.
