Environmental, Social and Governance
Our programs and policies
Our programs and policies
Our aim is to ensure Foodmach has a positive impact on our people, our community and the planet.
We’ve made a pledge to reach Net Zero as soon as possible and we’ve mapped out a path to get us there. We’re increasing investment in our team’s well-being and we’re building on our community programs. We’re looking for ways to contribute to social change for good.
Our target is to ensure that our actions today help future generations to thrive and prosper.
Advanced manufacturing has a critical role in addressing climate change and environmental degradation.
- One-fifth of the world's carbon emissions come from the manufacturing and production sectors. Even though Foodmach was an early adopter of solar (2013), and we've done our best to decarbonise ever since, we need to double down on our efforts.
- On the flip side, automation can reduce the environmental footprint of business operations by streamlining processes and reducing waste. As mechanical, electrical and software design engineers, we solve automation challenges. We think it is incumbent on ourselves to use what we know to make the world a safer place for society, nature and our customers.
Advanced manufacturing can contribute to social inclusion through the creation of high-skill, high-wage jobs. It can also create social cohesion when diversity and inclusion are nurtured and encouraged.
- Our role as employers is to create a safe place for our employees—physically, financially, emotionally and socially.
- Our responsibility to our industry is to nurture young talent.
- Our duty as corporate citizens is to give back to the community in which we operate.
Here are the four types of Corporate Social Responsibility and how we’re meeting them:
1. Environmental
a. Reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of single-use plastics, water consumption and general waste.
IN-HOUSE
We're LEAN!
We’ve implemented a stringent and transformative process of Lean Manufacturing, Continual Improvement and digitalisation within the business, which is ongoing and has significantly reduced waste throughout our entire value chain.
We’re investing in energy-efficient equipment.
For example, we recently invested $500K+ in an energy-efficient 4kW Fibre Optic Laser Cutter to replace an older laser. The new machine uses significantly less energy and assisted gases (nitrogen and oxygen) and cuts faster with less heat.
We’ve changed all the lighting in our 5,500m2 factory to LED.
It's resulted in 30% energy savings for lighting.
We're investigating ways to recycle plastic waste that currently goes to landfill.
We're even looking at exciting new ways to recycle onsite.
We're gearing up to do a sustainability audit, which will include:
- Waste streams and quantity produced annually
- Carbon emission levels
- Chemicals used in the manufacturing process
- Waste created in the product life cycle from start to end of life
- Required infrastructure to support sustainable practices.
FOR OUR CUSTOMERS
We’ve developed products to help our customers decarbonise.
Line MES is a line control software packaging that contributes to overall sustainability efforts by reducing waste at every stage of the packaging process, be it time, energy, materials or human resources.
It supports traceability initiatives and is a foundation for the transition to full Industry 4.0.
We’re actively working to design automation that helps our customers to reduce their reliance on non-sustainable resources:
- New types of renewable packaging and new automation challenges are appearing across the entire FMCG industry. We're in a constant process of R&D and commercialisation to meet them.
- We’re working with OEM suppliers of componentry to identify ways to make our equipment more energy efficient so we can offer our customers options to support their carbon reduction strategies.
For example, we’re collaborating with our pneumatics supplier to investigate how we can modify the design of our machines to consume less air.
The use of energy-efficient servo motors that control frequency makes it possible to cut energy consumption by 25% and reduce spikes in activation and switching energy.
We hope to develop a "green" version of our machines that might generate value for our customers by helping them on their journey to Net Zero in the near future. - Another step towards sustainability and energy efficiency is represented by machines with durable components and a modern hygienic design, such as our new Wraparound Packer, which has welded and rounded edges and recessed coverings. In addition to a longer working life, hygienic-designed machines have a smaller contact surface for dirt and germs, requiring less water and energy to be cleaned.
b. Increasing reliance on renewable energy, sustainable resources, and recycled or partially recycled materials.
Foodmach's factory in Victoria runs on 100% renewable energy.
We've appointed Momentum Energy to feed renewables into the grid to cover our energy needs surplus to that which our 100kW solar system provides (which is around 45% of our electricity).
c. Offsetting negative environmental impact; for example, by planting trees, funding research, and donating to related causes.
2. Ethical
Fair treatment of all stakeholders, including leadership, investors, employees, suppliers and customers.
- We run a values-driven organisation and we advocate specific behaviours to support our values. We are embedding the values in the business in an ongoing process.
- We provide our staff with a total well-being package through Lifeworks®, a mobile platform that improves their lives with personalized mental, physical, financial and social support.
- We’re actively working on increasing diversity, equality and inclusion within the business, bringing in external consultants to assist with culture changes where needed.
- We are working on leadership skills for middle management to improve the employee experience.
- We're conducting staff surveys to assess our current employees’ happiness, representation and quality of life at Foodmach, using the feedback to guide changes within the business.
- Ongoing training to upskill employees for greater job satisfaction.
- We treat our suppliers as we would like our customers to treat us—as partners.
- We treat our customers as our partners and their business as our own.
3. Philanthropic
a. Donating to charities and nonprofits that align with guiding missions or to worthy causes that don’t directly relate to the business.
Foodmach recently supported:
- The Leukemia Foundation – Blood Cancer Research
- Echuca Health – New Cancer Centre
- Echuca Netball
- Bendigo Science and Technology Museum
- Rochester Cricket Club
- Echuca Bowls Club
- Foodbank
- Campaspe Murray Business Awards Excellence in Manufacturing & Trade Award (June-Oct’22)
- Committee for Echuca Moama (Helping to improve the “livability” of the region)
b. Volunteerism and community engagement.
- Beacons Careers Day
- ‘Engineers Solve Problems’ CCLLEN + C4EM – fostering young problem-solvers and innovators
- Campaspe Shire Council Youth Advisory Group (visit to factory)
- Local career events like this and this.
c. Creating a charitable trust or organization to give back.
- The annual Peter Marks Community Leadership Scholarship in partnership with C4EM for the Fairley Leadership Program.
4. Economic
All financial decisions are weighed against a commitment to do good in the areas listed above.
Our end goal is not to simply maximise profits, but to contribute to society and conservation efforts.
Our Business Improvement Manager, Tim Ford, leads our ESG efforts and is mandated to apply an ESG lens to the company’s financial management.
Nurturing Next-Gen Engineers
How we foster young problem-solvers and innovators.
The world needs more engineers! We're always looking to support the careers of aspiring problem-solvers.
Working together with local community organisations, we open our doors each year to students from around Victoria.
Participants are provided with factory tours, live equipment demonstrations and given the chance to explore job roles within our business.
The ‘Engineers Solve Problems’ joint initiative between Campaspe Cohuna LLEN and the Committee for Echuca Moama (C4EM), which is now in its third year, saw students from four local schools visit our Echuca factory.
They were treated to a very pertinent example of how engineers do in fact solve the world’s problems.
The only Australian-made ear loop mask machine, which was designed and developed in-house, was on display and producing finest-quality face masks.
As the ongoing pandemic has proven, the world needs reliable and robust mask machines and ethically made masks. A coalition of Australian engineers managed by Foodmach led the way with the internationally-publicised Project Med-Con. Seven tie-style surgical mask machines were manufactured and delivered to Australian mask manufacturer Med-Con within 6-14 weeks, at a time when worldwide shortage and depleted stockpiles were of major concern. Those machines enabled Med-Con to meet demand for the national stockpile for front-line workers—well over 100,000 million masks within months.
Earle Roberts, Foodmach CEO: ‘Students are excited to see how Aussie engineers landed on the world stage, simply by rolling up their sleeves and doing what they do best.'
'When Covid hit, it was immaterial that our factory usually solves food and drink manufacturers' problems by making packaging machinery. Design-thinking and engineering ingenuity enable us to build anything—and so we did.'
'Now we’ve gone the extra mile and built the first Australian-designed ear loop mask machine. As engineers, we love a challenge.’
The aim of the Engineers Solve Problems program is to show students real-life examples of local people working across a range of engineering fields, to help them make more informed choices about their future pathways.
It’s also a great way to connect genuinely interested students with work placement opportunities.
As our Business Improvement Manager, Tim Ford, says: ‘Foodmach offers a number of pathways for people to get involved in an engineering company. There are opportunities in many engineering disciplines including mechanical, electrical and software design. Our engineers have progressed through a number of different streams—some were originally apprentices; others came from a university background.'
'This mix of experience helps us to develop a diverse team capable of turning out some pretty amazing products.’
We understand the need to connect our future workforce to industry.
By allowing students to explore job roles within our business and speak to representatives in these roles they can gain a better understanding of the pathway options to succeed in their career.
And as such, Foodmach team members are active in the community, sharing their experiences at career expos and education training provider events; working hard to inspire young people to consider a life in engineering.
Because why keep all the fun to ourselves?
See Kelly's experience working at Foodmach.
As Kelly says: 'It wasn't until I started here at Foodmach that I realised it was possible to actually love your job.'
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