Page 14 - Packaging News magazine March-April 2022

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TECH SPEAK | www.packagingnews.com.au | March-April 2022
AIP exec unpPacks the PIDAs
PKN Podcast’s 50th episode KN, along with sister brand second highest amount of WorldStar
featured Nerida Kelton, executive director of the Australian Institute of Packaging, who discussed the prestigious
Food & Drink Business, is the Packaging Awards in the world. exclusive media partner for “I think it’s really encouraging for the Packaging Innovation and those innovators and designers in Design Awards (PIDA) pro- the region to think that they are not gramme, which is now in its only working to make their packag-
Australasian Packaging eighth year, and according to ing better for the environment and for
Innovation and Design Awards programme – it’s history, past winners, what’s new this year and the value for entrants.
Nerida Kelton, the quality of entries the industry in the supply chain but
BELOW: An upside of winning a PIDA is the eligibility it provides entrants to the WPO’s global WorldStar Packaging Awards.
is getting better each year.
Kelton began the discussion by
pointing out the upsides of winning a PIDA, including the eligibility it provides entrants to enter the global WorldStar Packaging Awards, coor- dinated by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO).
“That’s an additional and excit- ing reason for everyone to enter the awards. We are currently shining on the global stage, with the designs that have come out of our region being rec- ognised globally by 60 judges from all over the world,” she said, noting how the ANZ region is punching above its weight, last year receiving the
are actually setting an example on a global stage,” she said.
Kelton went on to cover this year’s award categories for entrants – the special awards, the “outside the box” category, and the most coveted awards and scholarships on offer.
She said that the level of sustain- ability criteria has increased this year, and that entries in all categories must meet these criteria and demon- strate how their entries meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets and the 2030 Food Waste Targets.
“We will be looking at whether entrants have included and incor- porated the 10-point sustainable packaging principles into their designs, and whether the Australasian recy- cling label is visible on packs,” Kelton said, pointing out the importance of including packaging communication devices, such as QR codes, on designs.
“We receive a massive number of entries in the sustainability category each year. And year on year this cate- gory continues to show huge growth,” she added.
Another important category, says Kelton, is Save Food Packaging Design, and one, she says, at which the industry should look more closely.
“Packaging plays such a critical and integral role in potentially mini- mising food waste across the supply chains. And if, from the start, we can design better packaging to help min- imise food waste in households, we are going to lower our environmental impact,” she said.
On the subject of education and training that can be achieved through design, Kelton says that the PIDAs highlight the change that’s happen- ing, and encourage further change, to support people who think innova- tively about packaging and the change that needs to happen.
“Recognition isn’t just about a company standing up and getting the
Recognition isn’t just about a company standing up and getting the trophy. To us, it’s actually about showing people what good looks like and allowing other people to learn from these examples.”