Sustainability

All organic food is been made with three key sustainabilities in mind:

  • Ecological
  • Economical
  • Social

This extends to all facets of making organic foods and specifically includes our ingredients, packaging, storage and distribution.

Sustainability of our Ingredients

Because our products are certified organic you can be sure that the ingredients we use only abide by the highest standards of production and sustainable farming practices.

For example, because our milk comes from certified organic dairy farms, you can be sure that the soil on which the cows graze has captured CO2 back into the soil in the form of humus. A 23-year research project shows that if only 1000 medium sized farms converted to organic production, the carbon stored in the soil would be equivalent to taking 117 440 cars off the road each year (The Rodale Institute®, 2003).

Also organic farming promotes reduced greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Agriculture in Australia is the second-highest contributor of greenhouse gases (15.2 per cent in 2008) and accounts for most of the country’s methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which are caused by fertilisers and crop residues (Department of Climate Change, 2010). Organic standards prohibit the use of nitrogen fertilisers, which lowers emissions and provides both economic and environmental benefits (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2011).

You may also be interested to know that the Certified Organic Palm Oil that we use in our infant formula is world renowned as a leader of sustainable farming practices.  It is accredited by the Rainforest Alliance, and is Certified Sustainable Palm Oil  by RSPO.  This means you can be sure that our palm oil is not derived from farming practices that reduce rain forests, or harm the habit of orang utans.  

If you are interested to learn more about sustainability in organic, click here

Sustainability in our Packaging

Safety is always the first priority with our packaging. Our baby foods must have all the necessary barriers from light, heat, and air so the product inside is protected from spoiling.

Our products do not contain preservatives, which are used by some food companies to make the product last a long time. We use smart methods of maintaining the freshest products by using smaller sized packaging and not offering bulk sizes.

With that things in mind, the next most important thing we can do is look towards environmentally positive solutions.  That includes packaging materials that are eco friendly – meaning, they can be recycled, composted, have a low carbon footprint and do not emit hazardous chemicals into our food or the air. 

Tins

Currently we pack our formula into tins, which are fully recyclable and BPA free. The plastic lids are also recyclable. 

Pouches

Currently, compostable or recyclable pouches that also meet our needs for product safety are not yet available. But we are hopeful that this technology will be available in the future, and we keep regular contact with our suppliers and take an active interest in pursuing any new technology in this area. In the meantime, our pouches :

  • save emissions during transport, due to their lighter weight than glass
  • reduce volume in landfill
  • reduce the ratio of product-to-package compared with glass, or a bag in box.

Boxed products

Bellamy's uses producers who have a culture of reduce, re-use, recycle and:

  • have certification through Forest Stewardship Council (FSC);
  • use environmentally friendly soy based inks;
  • strictly control emissions to ensure that they are below EPA requirements
  • recycle up to 97% of waste by re-use in the factory or recycling
  • employ energy conservation including >5% 'green power‘
  • employ water conservation through flow regulators
  • hold regular reviews with environmental authorities to ensure best practice

Packing cartons

All our products are packed into recyclable cartons. Our cartons are designed so that they do not require plastic packing tape to seal them.