FaBA Report features at Packaging Conference

Professor Janet McColl-Kennedy and Dr Giorgio La Fata promoted FaBA’s Sustainable Packaging Trends Report – an initiative of the FaBA Innovation Pathways Program – at the 2025 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference in Sydney from 5-7 May.

The AIP Australasian Packaging Conference is the premier industry-led packaging conference tailored to bring together packaging professionals from across the Australian and New Zealand region.

The conference attracted more than 250 delegates with 85 speakers. Professor McColl-Kennedy, FaBA’s Innovation Pathways Program Lead, was delighted to present key findings from the Sustainable Packaging Trends Report at the conference.

“Adopting sustainable packaging is one of the most immediate and impactful ways Australia’s food and beverage sector can transition to a circular economy,” Professor McColl-Kennedy said.

She noted “there was considerable interest from a wide range of companies both large and small working in the industry” in adopting sustainable packaging.

Questions were wide ranging from how can small companies get help to adopt a sustainable approach to packaging, to how do we get government to set targets and enforce penalties, to how can we help consumers see the value in sustainable packaging?

She was especially pleased to engage in discussions about the importance of taking an ecosystem approach, saying “we are all in this together”.

Dr La Fata welcomed the strong interest generated by the FaBA’s Sustainable Packaging Trends Report, which sparked widespread discussions on the implementation of its recommendations at various scales.

Key conversations underscored the urgency of reducing waste while safeguarding food security, alongside the pivotal role of Australian-made packaging solutions in driving the transition towards true sustainability. Additionally, there was considerable interest in learning more about FaBA and how this initiative is supporting the growth and innovation of Australia’s food and beverage sector.