Sustainability
As growers of premium mangoes and avocados, working in synergy with the environment is fundamental and very important to us. We love the environments we live and work in and feel a genuine responsibility to nurture and sustain our surroundings.
The Manbulloo team is constantly planning and making our short and long term decisions based on sustainability and protecting our environment. The way we care for our trees always takes into account caring for the soil, the air, the water and the organisms and animals that are integral parts of our farms.
Current business projects include 2 large-scale solar power energy investments to increase the efficiency of irrigation. Manbulloo is also using in-ground probes to optimise our water use. We are committed to improving management of our inputs and waste on the farms and in our supply chains. We are paying special attention to recycling, reusing and renewing strategies. This includes the type of packaging we use, and the utilisation of left over mango skin and mango seeds, so we use every last bit of our mangoes.
Here are some of our most recent changes and initiatives:
Sustainable Packaging
Manbulloo has recently joined the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). This represents a very significant step forward to improve our sustainability. Manbulloo's new Kensington Pride 4 pack punnet (that we supply exclusively to Coles) has the ARL (Australasian Recycling Label) icons on the flow wrap. It instructs the consumer to put the empty cardboard tray into the recycling bin and the plastic wrap into the waste bin. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is the entity in charge of managing and administering the Covenant. Organisations agree to shared commitments and joint responsibilities to work collaboratively to achieve sustainable packaging outcomes. Our priorities include establishing improved recycling targets, more considered packaging design, sustainable alternatives and minimising waste to landfill. Manbulloo is now a part of this initiative and has made changes in the way we design, use and buy packaging and packaged products so that packaging uses less resources and is more easily recycled.
You can find more information about APCO on the website www.packagingcovenant.org.au.
Paper inserts
Manbulloo was the first company in Australia to trial paper inserts for packing of mangoes. The paper inserts were imported into Australia by our packaging supplier, Opal (formerly Orora). We first trialled the paper inserts at the end of the mango season in March 2018. The trial was successful and during the 2018-19 season we switched from plastic inserts to paper inserts for the 3 fruit sizes available at the time – counts 14, 16, 18.
Based on Manbulloo’s trail and commercial success using the paper inserts, Opal has now expanded the range to include sizes count 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 for mangoes and avocado sizes count 18, 20, 23, 25, 28. Our goal is to completely switch from plastic to paper inserts. The only limitation is the availability of enough stock.The environmental benefit of the paper inserts is the recyclability of the paper material compared to the plastic inserts that have to go to landfill. It provides savings to Coles for their disposal of waste packaging. At the Coles store, the plastic insert has to be removed from the carton and disposed separately to the carton. With the paper insert, the carton and insert can both be recycled and disposed together which reduces landfill and saves time and costs for the Coles retail team.
Transport
Wherever possible Manbulloo is focused on using rail to transport fruit to our Australian market destinations. It is estimated that rail produces 75% less greenhouse gases than road freight equivalents. By focusing on utilising rail options Manbulloo ensures the carbon footprint of our mango and avocado transport including delivery of mangoes to our customers is greatly reduced.
Water Management on the Farms
The Manbulloo production team is currently undertaking an extensive assessment of our irrigation efficiency – measuring water pressure, sprinkler distribution and performance and pump performance. We are using soil moisture monitoring probes to reduce any leaching and waste of precious irrigation water and fertiliser. This ongoing initiative is a key factor in improving tree performance and water use efficiency.
Our overall goal is to reduce Manbulloo’s energy consumption by 20% per tree by 2021. To put it simply, we grow mangoes and avocados that have as little impact on the environment as possible, so we can supply our consumers with fruit that is clean, green and full of flavour.