Message from the Managing Director
We have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in sustainability; to provide innovative and responsible packaging solutions that protect the many resources invested in products and reduce waste throughout the supply chain.
We know that securing our social licence to operate relies on our reputation for social responsibility. As one of our core values, Social Responsibility, along with Safety, Talent, Teamwork and Innovation underpin our approach to sustainability and form the foundation of who we are and how we behave at Amcor.
The results and plans detailed in this year’s Sustainability Report clearly demonstrate how we live our value of Social Responsibility at Amcor.
Looking back, FY2010/11 was an important year for the progress of our sustainability goals. It was the first time we reported a full year of performance inclusive of the acquired Alcan Packaging sites and our first EnviroAction target period concluded five years after its initiation. We met our water reduction target and reduced our waste to landfill by nearly double our target. We have reported an increase in greenhouse gas intensity for the new Amcor, however, this increase is largely due to the recent acquisition of a more greenhouse gas intensive product portfolio. For the legacy Amcor sites, our GHG intensity continued the downward trend, finishing 4.5% below our FY2005/06 baseline but falling short of our five-year reduction target of 10%.
Our responsible packaging innovations continued to be valued by customers and were recognised through external awards around the world. Also, our Talent through Diversity Policy was launched this year, to promote and uphold our approach to diversity in the workplace.
Our focus on Safety across all of Amcor’s business groups has resulted in an overall improvement in performance. However, we can not be complacent - we will continue to emphasise the importance of safety systems, training and building our safety culture in pursuit of our goal of No Injuries. This year also marked the tenth anniversary of our partnership with the not-for-profit environmental organisation, Earthwatch. We are proud of our direct support for conservation research and the efforts of our employees as volunteers in the field.
Looking forward, we have challenging new five-year EnviroAction targets to pursue, through to FY2015/16. We will continue to drive improvements across our operations and with our suppliers and customers to reduce the footprint of our products. We will continue to participate in SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) and develop our approach to sustainability management in our supply chains. We will also focus on building capability in our sales and marketing teams so that they are equipped to communicate with our customers about the role packaging can play to support their sustainability objectives.
In FY2010/11, Amcor achieved record earnings performance, with profit after tax up 39%* despite a challenging operating environment, with higher raw material costs and the adverse impact on our reported earnings of a much-appreciated Australian currency. The benefits anticipated from our acquisition of the Alcan Packaging sites met market expectations and will underpin earnings growth over the next two years.
Our future success relies on finding better ways to serve our customers in emerging, high-growth markets. These complex markets provide a challenging new world of opportunity for Amcor. We have the operating platform, the flexibility, an unrivalled global footprint and more than 33,000^ talented co-workers ready to meet this challenge.
I would like to thank all of our co-workers for their ongoing commitment to achieving excellence in sustainability and living our value of Social Responsibility. We will maintain our focus on our sustainability objectives and targets for the coming year.
I welcome your feedback on our commitments and performance detailed here in our 2011 Sustainability Report.
Ken Mackenzie
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
