SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
Supplement to the integrated annual report for the year ended 30 September 2023
Supplement to the integrated annual report for the year ended 30 September 2023
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Our 2025 Plastics Pact targets
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Our operations generate impacts related to solid waste, packaging, and food waste and loss all along our value chain. Upstream, in agriculture, waste comes from over-production, produce imperfections, unused plant parts, and losses from pests, diseases, and weather events. During manufacturing and processing, we generate food waste through various production activities. Our packaging production and disposal contribute significantly to solid waste, with packaging design being a key factor in packaging waste and food waste reduction. In distribution, incorrect handling and refrigeration can cause food loss and waste. Additionally, downstream consumer usage can create waste from uneaten food and packaging disposal. Finally, at the post-consumer phase, unrecycled or uncomposted packaging and food waste become solid waste in landfills.
Plastic packaging plays a vital role in delivering our products to consumers in a manner that preserves the integrity of the product, promotes convenience, and safeguards health. Yet the waste generated from plastic packaging has serious negative implications for marine ecosystems, wildlife, climate change, and the quality of air, water and soil. Beyond packaging, food waste and loss is a critical issue in industrial food systems. Globally, a full third of all food is wasted and lost along the value chain, carrying the compound impact of all the wasted energy, water and nutrition embodied within this food, as well as the carbon emissions released during its production, transport and decomposition in landfills.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations were gazetted in South Africa in May 2021, making the management of post-consumer packaging waste a legal obligation for producers. The regulations confer legal responsibility for post-consumer packaging waste on producers, and provide direction on how producers can appoint and pay public responsibility organisations (PROs) to collect and recycle this packaging waste on their behalf. Producers are to pay their appointed PROs a monthly levy based on the total weight of packaging material they sell into the market.
Reducing packaging and reducing food waste and loss offer the dual benefit of supporting improved cost-efficiency and environmental performance, with social benefits a key potential in the diversion of food waste to those who need it most. The financial benefits of recycling are becoming more apparent and significant, and the diversion of waste from landfill reduces disposal costs and offers potential income-generating opportunities through waste valorisation. We take an inclusive approach to our waste minimisation and recycling initiatives where possible, looking to create jobs and support micro-enterprises through the process. A consistent part of our food waste minimisation strategy is to make regular donations of near-expiry food to vulnerable communities through our partner, Food Forward SA.
Our approach is informed by compliance requirements and participation in industry waste management initiatives through the CGCSA. Key legislative instruments that apply to our waste management activities include the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations, waste classification regulations, waste storage standards and local refuse removal by-laws. Through the CGCSA, we have committed to the principles and targets of the South African Plastics Pact, as well as the Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement. We also set annual targets to guide year-on-year improvement towards these longer-term goals.
Our current focus is on improving waste management at our manufacturing plants in alignment with our SSHE systems and procedures ( see above and – SSHE), minimising our waste, and reducing waste to landfill. These efforts are predominantly foundational, but we see our development of these foundational capabilities as a springboard for future initiatives that may capture waste streams and by-products as inputs for innovative new processes or products.
We are committed to achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030, and have set an interim target of a 50% reduction in waste to landfill by 2025. Our annual waste minimisation target for 2023 was to achieve a 10% reduction in waste-to-landfill intensity. We have significantly improved waste segregation onsite at our facilities over the last two years, which has led to an increase in the volume of waste we divert from disposal in landfill.
As a signatory to the SA Plastics Pact, we have committed to a set of industry-approved 2025 targets for reducing plastic packaging, increasing recycling, and increasing the use of recycled content materials.
Through the Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement, we have committed to reducing food waste by 50% by 2030, in alignment with SDG target 12,3, but have had difficulty setting a food waste baseline in order to act on this target. We completed a baseline study on our food waste in 2022, and have set a target of 20% reduction in food waste by 2027.
We outsource all waste management at our sites to external service providers, who sign service-level agreements that contain specific conditions relating to the achievement of our waste management targets, including for plastic recycling, diversion of waste from landfill, and off-take of food waste for animal feed. Last year, we faced a serious challenge finding suitable waste management service providers, and we were not able to close out all our waste management contracts. This year, we have secured waste contract services for all our sites. This crucial step will allow us to advance in our zero waste-to-landfill targets. We are now focused on achieving our milestone target of 50% reduction in waste to landfill by 2025, and despite a few challenges concerning the consistent application of our onsite waste separation and reporting procedures, we remain optimistic about reaching this goal.
In recent years, we have taken various steps to improve the efficiency and sustainability of our packaging. We have eliminated unnecessary packaging, optimised light-weighting, specified packaging made with recycled materials, and will soon be introducing alternative packaging solutions for some of our most popular brands. Over the last year, with the support of a consultant, we have developed tools to track and calculate the total weight of packaging we produce across all our products and categories, as well as the related levies we are to pay our PROs to comply with the new EPR regulations. We are now compliant with the EPR regulations and all fees for 2022 have been paid to the PROs.
We have established a standard practice for the on-pack labelling of a product's recyclability. Our approach is easy to understand and clearly informs consumers what is recyclable and what is not. We implement this practice for all new products and existing products under renovation, as of our broader responsible marketing and labelling practices ( see – responsible marketing).
Performance
We achieved our waste to landfill target, reducing waste to landfill by 32,7% over the period. Our landfill waste intensity was 0,0028 (tonne/tonne), representing a 32,1% decrease from 0,0041 tonne/tonne in 2022.