Integrity is one of our core values – doing the right thing is our promise to our people, consumers and strategic partners and is critical to our long-term success.
As our company evolves, we continue to improve on our internal processes and approach to responsible business. Building on these processes, an area of particular focus has been pro-active engagement across our broader industry and value chain. Responsible sourcing and responsible marketing continue to be priorities.
Modern slavery
In 2018, Australia introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth, Australia). The purpose of this legislation it to outline how businesses can take action and reduce the risk of vulnerable workers in their operations and supply chains.
This Australian legislation requires certain companies based or operating in Australia to prepare annual statements on potential modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains, and the steps they have taken to address those risks.
In March 2021, a2MC submitted its first Modern Slavery Statement in accordance with the Act. The Statement was made on behalf of all the entities of the Group, which was beyond the legislative requirement.
a2MC’s Statement addresses key modern slavery risks and the Company’s actions in identifying and assessing these risks. The key actions taken to mitigate these risks were also outlined. A copy of the Statement is available here.
Packaging
The Company has a vision for as much of its packaging as possible to be reusable, recyclable or compostable. Achieving this will require a region by region and product by product approach over time.
In FY21 there was a focus on products sold in Australia. Australia first introduced the ‘2025 National Packaging Targets’ in 2018 and they were updated in 2020. The targets require a complete and systemic change to the way Australia creates, collects and recovers product packaging, and are an important step on Australia’s journey towards a circular economy for packaging.
The targets are overseen by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and, in 2021, a2MC became a signatory to the Covenant, strengthening the Company’s long-term commitment to sustainable packaging. Being a signatory to the Covenant, a2MC is required to report on its progress on an annual basis as well as publishing an action plan.
This covers all Australian sales which captures a significant proportion of the Company’s product portfolio, not only the fresh milk products produced in Australia.
