While news about cigarette packaging in Australia has focused recently on legislation requiring that it be made to look ugly, some positive developments have been going on behind the scenes.
Imperial Tobacco’s Australian (ITA) business, for instance, has reported that it has been recognized by the government for its “careful approach to product packaging.”
ITA said that it had been awarded an above-average star rating of 3.2 out of 5 under the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) scheme.
APC is a sustainable packaging initiative that aims to change the business culture and encourage the design of more sustainable packaging, increase recycling and reduce litter.
“I’m really pleased with our APC result and the team here should feel proud of their efforts,” said Gary Dickson, regulatory affairs manager, Australia.
“Our score has improved year on year since 2010, and we’re working to identify further improvement opportunities in this area.
“This achievement is even more impressive considering that a lot of work relating to our Sustainable Packaging Guidelines has been put on hold whilst we assess the impact of plain packaging legislation in Australia.”