Arid Zone is proudly celebrating winning Gold at the APPA (Australasian Promotional Products Association) Awards for Promotional Products Marketing Excellence recently held in Melbourne. Their winning "Kinder Kit" entry in the Sustainable/Eco-Friendly Promotional Product category was produced for the Victorian Government as part of their free kindergarten for 3 year olds initiative.
To meet the brief's strict criteria, the Arid Zone team focused on balancing sustainable, ethical and socially responsible purchase practices using recycled and recyclable materials where possible, with most of the Kinder Kits' components able to be re-purposed or broken down for recycling. The Kits are a bright and engaging collection of useful resources for children with books, toys and activities designed to encourage children to continue learning at home and to help parents and carers support their child to thrive in the first year of kindergarten.
Arid Zone collaborated with the Victorian government and Climate Active to undertake a carbon neutral certification process, considered to be one of the most rigorous in the world. This guided the carbon emissions reduction process.
The team also engaged with Ndever Environmental, a climate change and human rights advisory firm who are focused on accelerating the economy’s transition to a sustainable, net zero future. The advisory firm undertook a comprehensive assessment of the Kinder Kit case, with their findings audited and certified by Climate Active. Carbon neutral certification for the Kinder Kits was confirmed with the Victorian Department of Education and Training. The Climate Active logo was also then able to be included within the artwork of the Kinder Kit case.
This APPA award represents recognition of the significant journey towards greater sustainability and ethical practices Arid Zone part of the Conserv Brands Group is dedicated to. Their aim is to provide clients with more product choices, global sourcing, bespoke designs and of course more attractive pricing, whilst also enabling sustainable and ethical processes and production.
To further facilitate their commitment two specific new appointments have been made by Arid Zone. Firstly, the hiring of an expert Compliance Consultant with many years of experience across a number of initiatives specifically around process, auditing and implementation of best practice. Secondly, Fiona Pointon has also been newly appointed to the role of Group Business Manager. A primary aspect of her role will be actioning the Corporate Ethical Sustainable journey plan with the internal taskforce. Fiona has spent many years working for large consumer retailers and pharmacy groups in South Africa, UK and New Zealand before making Australia home several years ago.
On the Award and ongoing strategy - CEO and Founder Clive McCorkell says:
“In keeping with our Sustainability Plan, we are committed to doing what’s right in terms of impacting both people and the planet. That means striving to increase our sustainability efforts and constantly seeking new ways to contribute more meaningfully. We are committed to working as a team to take action today so we can have a healthy planet for our future.
Our work with the Victorian Government illustrates how client partnerships can result in pioneering and innovative results."