C2181 - Phoenix Natural Foods - Auckland
Region
Summary
In 1996 Phoenix Natural Foods participated in the Waitakere City Council Cleaner
Production Partnership Programme. Phoenix produce a range of natural products
including the 'Phoenix Drinks' and 'Phoenix Cuisine Quality Foods'. Phoenix
offer consumers with a natural alternative to mass produced beverages - Their
products are free of artificial ingredients and sweetened with honey. Phoenix
produce a range of Handmade Organic Preserves which are made with 'Biogrow'
certified organically grown fruit. The product is sweetened with NZ honey
and are free of artificial preservatives. Phoenix has had to compete on a
very powerful market with multi-nationals like Coke-a-Cola and Pepsi and
has survived. Phoenix looks to the future with confidence and determination
to prove that sound environmental and ecological policies do sell.
Business Profile
Phoenix Natural Foods is located in Henderson, Waitakere City. Phoenix were
the first company in New Zealand to produce and market an 'organic' range
of food and natural beverage products. With very little capital Phoenix has
survived ten years. Phoenix began as a Government funded company who now
employ eleven people.
Type of Project
An environmental policy; Involvement of staff; monitoring programme; identification
of areas for improvement; Investigation of options; monitoring and reviewing
progress.
The Project
The Phoenix environmental policy
At Phoenix Natural Foods we recognise our responsibility to the sustainable
management of resources. To achieve this we are committed to continually
improving our environmental performance, and will do this through:
- Progressively minimising environmental effects
of our operations and products through their life cycle
- Operating an ongoing Cleaner Production programme
involving all staff to monitor , review and continually improve
environmental performance
- Using resources as efficiently as possible and
minimising waste production at source
- minimising use of non-renewable resources
- phasing out the use of hazardous substances
where alternatives exist
- integrating environmental criteria with all
significant purchasing specifications
Re-usable bottles
All beverages are packaged in glass which was a conscious decision in an effort
to steer away from plastic. In an effort to reduce waste Phoenix are investigating
reusable glass bottles for a new product range. This will involve importing
specialised bottles and employing a local company to wash the bottles for
refilling back at Phoenix.
Staff involvement
Regular meetings are held with management to discuss issues relating to production
inefficiencies. Staff suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.
Phoenix packaging
- Phoenix prefer to use unbleached cardboard boxes
- Phoenix make an effort to minimise packaging
- Phoenix use shredded waste paper for packing
- Customers are asked to return cardboard boxes
- this saves Phoenix $1 per box returned
Recycling programmes
Phoenix separate their waste for recycling. Glass, cardboard and plastic wrap
are collected by local recyclers for recycling.
In an effort to close the recycling loop Phoenix prefer to use
recycled paper.
Energy efficiency
Phoenix is conscious about energy efficiency. They use steam (generated by
boilers) to produce the power to cook and pasteurise. Steam pipes are lagged
to reduce heat loss. Tandem steam boilers are operated so that one can be
shut down when it is not needed - conserving energy. In addition all production
is timed to finish before 'peak times' kick in.
Within the warehouse natural lighting is used to reduce the
need for artificial lighting.
Kitchen wastes
All wastes from the kitchen is collected by a trap - this prevents solid waste
entering the trade waste system. This simple practice results in significant
financial rewards for the company.
Water
Phoenix operate a water-bath pasteurising system. Hot water used to heat glass
bottles is recycled through the pasteurising system.
Phoenix suppliers
Phoenix support other companies who have environmentally friendly practices.
Their suppliers include 'Apiarists', 'Organic fruit growers' and 'mineral
water produces' - all products are natural and are renewable resources.
For additional information contact:
Chris Morrision
Phoenix Natural Foods Ltd
PO Box 20 217
Glen Eden
Auckland
Ph: (09) 836 2272
Fax (09) 836 5232
Rachel Brown
Cleaner Production Co-ordinator
Waitakere City Council
Private Bag 93 109
Henderson
Auckland Ph (09) 836 8000 ext 8519
Fax: (09) 836 8057
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