PCA Schools Education

Packaging Education News (PEN) Vol 1

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Welcome to the first edition of the new look Packaging Education Newsletter (PEN), formerly known as PackEE. Published approximately four times per year, it aims to keep educators up to date with the latest resources and information to explore packaging related issues with students and the general public.

This newsletter has undergone a revamp over the summer. It is designed to give educators some of the ‘tools’ or information they need to broaden their own understanding of the complexity of packaging. For assistance when planning your units of work contact:
Prudence Scholtes:
E: prudence@pca.org.au
T: (03) 9690 1955

The Packaging Council of Australia (PCA) is a member based not-for-profit organisation for all companies involved in the packaging supply chain. It is committed to providing the education community with quality resources to support teachers and students to gain a better understanding of the complex business, community, social and environmental issues relating to packaging.


A word from the Education Manager
As a teacher I lived for the ah-ha moments; those times when a students eyes light up, their frowns turn upwards and you realise they have finally ‘got’ whatever it was you were trying to teach them. Over the past twelve months I have experienced more ah-ha moments than I can count. Moments when I ‘got’ what it was I was trying to grasp, times when I understood why manufacturers and designers created things in a particular way. There were ah-ha moments when I realised teachers had ‘got’ what it was I was on about when I said packaging was not simple. Ah-ha moments when I went out to schools and students were able to excitedly share with me all the ‘jobs’ packaging had to do. Packaging issues are vast and varied and the answers to questions are never clear-cut. Even after a year in this position, I still have to remind myself to think critically before I can expect others to do so. For example, I was watching the latest GLAD zip lock lunch bag TV commercial when I realised for all the examining of packaging that I do, I never realised that the blue and yellow lines on the bag changed to green to indicate to the consumer that the bag was now airtight to keep in the freshness. How could I have missed that? Especially as I only cook for one, so keeping food fresh for as long as possible is paramount. I really hate having to throw out food that took precious water to grow, because I couldn’t use it in time before it wilted and turned into slime sludge at the bottom of the crisper. This to me epitomises why I do what I do. No matter how much we think we know, how well we understand our subject, how strong our convictions, we must always be open to learning more and broadening our minds, only then will we truly be able to make a difference. Solutions can only come when you understand the complete package. May you experience many ah-ha moments over the coming 12 months. Prudence Scholtes Education and Community Awareness Manager


Available Resources
Website: www.pca.org.au/education.htm Fact sheets, FAQ’s, Lesson plans Links to industry and educational resources Information on factory visits and teacher PD EDNA group EDNA Groups is a free service for communication and collaboration between members of the Australian education and training community. A new EDNA group called “Packaging – Discussion and Resources” has been established on the EDNA website. This is a great opportunity to chat with other educators who teach packaging, share your lesson plans, activities, discuss topics and ask questions. Visit www.groups.edna.edu.au to register for this group. The Pack pack The Pack pack has been short-listed for the 2007 Australian Publishing Design Awards in the Best Designed Primary Education Category. Published by the PCA in mid 2006, this highly visual resource includes: * 12 A3 big cards on different packaging issues (Graphics one side – discussion/research starters on side two) * 10 full colour A4 cards exploring highly innovative packaging designs * Related activity sheets * Teachers Guide with Math, Science and English curriculum outcomes * Suggestions on how to use the kit for Values Education and Sustainability education plus more! Activities are aligned to the curriculum of grades 5 to 7 Australia wide. This resource is, however, being used by teachers from grade 1 to senior secondary teachers of Food and Technology. To view a sample of The Pack pack contents go to the PCA Education Corner homepage and click on The Pack pack from the main menu. www.pca.org.au/education.htm This resource is great value at only $55 (incl. GST and postage and handling. Order forms can be downloaded from the website or by clicking here. Payment must be received before The Pack pack can be posted.


Free Publications from the PCA
2006 Southern Cross Packaging Design Briefs for Graphic and Industrial Design Tertiary Students This booklet contains design briefs for tertiary students. Design teachers can use this booklet to show students what they can expect at tertiary level, it can also be adapted to provide design briefs suitable for secondary students. It is also an excellent tool to help students come to understand all the requirements that packaging design needs to address before it goes out into the market place. 2006 Australian Packaging Design Awards Results Brochure This brochure highlights all the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners from the 2006 Australian Packaging Awards and Southern Cross Awards. It includes photos and descriptions of the winning designs. To order your free copies of the above publications contact: Prudence Scholtes E: prudence@pca.org.au T: (03) 9690 1955 Coming Soon – New Free Publication Packaging- Real Examples of Change and Innovation This free book highlights examples of how the National Packaging Covenant has encouraged better design to improve the impact of packaging on the environment. Full colour before and after pictures included. This booklet will be a great resource for teachers who are trying to encourage their students to think critically about packaging design whilst giving them practical examples of what to look for in good design. To pre order copies of this new publication contact: Prudence Scholtes E. prudence@pca.org.au T: (03) 9690 1955


Snapshot Interviews
One of our most popular pages on the website, this issue we have doubled our interviews! Read interviews with a Packaging Innovation Manager and an Intellectual Property Lawyer. Teachers around the country are using these interviews to help students gain a better understanding of the complexity of the supply chain, packaging issues and to highlight prospective careers. Past careers featured include: Branch Manager – Pressure sensitive labelling Account Manager - Closures, products, design, manufacturing and sealing solutions Market Manager – Case ready – Modified Atmosphere Packaging General Manager – Barcodes; rules, regulations and future trends Communications Manger – Food Standards Australia Sales and Occupational Health and Safety – flexographic printing. Click here to visit the Snapshot Interview page.


New on the Website
1. Curriculum outcomes for each state for "The Pack pack" 2. FAQ’s – This issue questions are answered on the production of paper in Australia. 3. Online Lessons – Design briefs for years 9 & 11


Professional Development and Events
Keep up to date with the most current industry news by listening to members of the Packaging Industry speak. These dinners provide an opportunity to increase your knowledge, chat with industry representatives over dinner, gain insight into what’s currently happening and be privy to expected future trends in packaging. All meetings begin at 6pm for a 6.30pm start and are usually finished by 9pm. PCA Professional Development Dinner Meetings are held monthly. Check the PCA home page regularly for future meetings to be held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. For all enquires please contact: Prudence Scholtes E. prudence@pca.org.au T: (03) 9690 1955


What's been happening?
The Home Economics Industry Association Biennial Conference took place in Sydney in January. Teachers and lecturers from Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, United States and Europe gathered to hear the latest news and share ideas, activities and resources. I was privileged to be asked to conduct a workshop on “Packaging and the resources of the PCA”. A lively 1 ½ hours was spent with 30 educators from four countries. Plenty of feedback was gathered on what information and resources teachers needed in order to teach the topic of packaging. The post conference discussions and resource sharing between attendees has been very productive.


Industry News in Brief
National Packaging Covenant (NPC) The National Packaging Covenant is a co-regulatory agreement between industry, retailers and government to reduce the net environmental impact of packaging whilst also preserving the integrity of the product. All signatories are required to provide Action Plans and report yearly on their activities. These Action Plans list the actions a company is going to take to minimise the environmental impact of their packaging according to the National Packaging Covenant guidelines. Action Plans can be viewed on the PCA website by clicking here. Currently there are 471 signatories to the Covenant, the latest signatories include Woolworth’s, Canon Australia and Toshiba. Labelling Issues - Grown in Australia Logo The parameters for the proposed ‘Voluntary Grown in Australia logo’ have been refined. Rather than a threshold of 90-95% of the product being grown in Australia, as previously stated 100% of each ingredient specified, as Australian Grown must be grown in Australia. The specified Australian grown ingredients together must constitute at least 50% of the ingoing weight of the product. For example, on a tin of Australian tomatoes with imported basil and oregano, the logo would say ‘Australian Grown Tomatoes’. Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling Scheme The Australian and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council is considering a front of pack nutrition labelling scheme, similar to one used in the United Kingdom which provides consumers with, ‘at a glance information’, about the nutritional contents of food. The Food Regulation Standing Committee is exploring whether the front of pack labelling system would be an effective health strategy and to advise whether label systems such as the ‘traffic light’ or ‘behavioural’ labelling systems would be effective.


Interesting Industry Snippets from the WWW
Links to a few interesting media articles on the web regarding packaging around the world. Tesco carbon rating to force greener processing By George Reynolds 06/02/2007 - A major UK supermarket is set to assign a carbon rating to everything it sells, pressurizing manufacturers to become ‘greener’ or face losing trade. Click here _______________________________________________________ Wal-Mart steps up green plans - 02/02/2007 Click here ______________________________________________ Packaging giant opens new Sydney water saving plant Click here _______________________________________________________ Crisp packets get new life as covers for band's CDs By Arifa Akbar Click here _______________________________________________________ HP's Redesigned Ink, Toner Packaging to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 37 Million Pounds in 2007 Click here


Your feedback
What do you think of the new look Packaging Education News? Does it provide you with all the information you need? Write to prudence@pca.org.au to let me know your thoughts.


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