Our Commitment To The Environment

Packaging Stewardship

Premier is committed to managing and reducing the impact our business operations have on the environment. Premier is a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement between government and industry which provides companies with the tools to be more involved in reducing their impact on the environment through sustainable packaging design, recycling and product stewardship. Premier has submitted a 5 year Action Plan outlining its objectives in relation to:

1. Optimising packaging to reduce environmental impacts;
2. Increasing the collection and recycling of packaging;
3. Commitment to product stewardship; and
4. Implementation of Sustainable Packaging Guidelines.

All plastic shopping bags used by the group are made using EPI technology designed to control and manage the lifetime of products made from the most common plastics to assist in the breakdown, degrade and subsequent biodegrade process.

Waste And Recycling

Premier has extensive recycling and sustainable practices across our network of Stores, Distribution Centres and Support Centre. Our Distribution Centres execute on-site recovery systems for recycling used packaging and follow Sustainable Packaging Guidelines. All carton packaging uses recycled content. Cartons are reused to facilitate the replenishment of stock, or where necessary waste packaging is compacted and collected for recycling. We have partnered with Orora, a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, to collect and process in line with their recycling procedures. Orora’s recycling business specialises in paper and cardboard, among others, which is then used as the major input at their recycled paper mill, to produce 100% recycled paper.

Our Support Centre recycles all paper and has continued our co-mingled recycling program for glass and plastics on every floor in our entire building. All paper purchased for our Support Centre is accredited from The Forest Stewardship Council sources, an international network which promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. All necessary printing at our support centre is activated by personalised swipe access only to release print. This initiative has seen a significant reduction in waste paper printing, as it removes entirely non-collection of printouts. All weekly retail reporting, forms, reference and administrative material is stored and accessible via mobile technology.

Across our network of stores, reuse is always our first option. Specific initiatives relate to plastic hangers and carton packaging. In store, plastic hangers are first reused, and if there is an oversupply our supplier collects and repackages those hangers for reuse or to be fully recycled. Additionally, all cartons are reused to facilitate movement of stock between our stores. In the balance of instances we will utilise our shopping centre recycling facilities.

Energy Efficiency

Premier recognises the importance of energy efficient, low environmental impact lighting systems and since 2012 have adhered to new improved lighting standards to efficiently manage our energy consumption in all of our stores. This has resulted in an investment to our store network and upgrade of 232 stores to LED lighting. This initiative has subsequently meant less heat, thereby reducing the overall heat load on our stores and reduced investment in cooling requirements. In addition this has led to a dramatic reduction in ongoing maintenance and light bulb replacement. This standard has been implemented for all new store fit-outs. Across our existing store network all expired bulbs are recycled and we are looking to complete a ‘like for like’ conventional to LED lamp replacement programme.

With the active participation of our employees, we believe that our focus on environmental issues will make our business more efficient, drive customer and employee connection, and have a positive impact in the communities in which we operate.