The Arnott’s Group says its latest multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility will fuel the company’s growth ambitions in the better-for-you market segment. The Rowville, Victoria factory, a green site build of 45,000 square metres, will house Good Food Partners, Arnotts’ better-for-you and snack foods business. It’s one of Australia’s largest producers of branded and private label cereals, muesli, nutritional snacks, and bars. Brands include Freedom Cereals, Messy Monkeys, Sunsol, Heritage Mill, Arnold’s Farm, Arnott’s Treatles, and Sam’s Pantry. Good Food Partners MD, Chris Diver, said the Rowville site would provide “a huge amount of capability and capacity and flexibility to grow the business”. It features three main manufacturing areas, including a dedicated allergen-free and extruded products zone, an R&D culinary centre, and two logistics warehouses. “Most people will tell you it’s a five-year journey to build a site like this. We effectively did it in less than two,” Diver said. Annually, the…

As shop theft reaches record levels in convenience stores globally, retailers are doubling down on retail crime, increasing their security budgets and turning to new technologies, including AI-powered surveillance solutions, to combat the growing problem. In this detailed feature we explore how new strategies and new AI based tools can provide practical solutions, continuing on from our recent coverage of strategies to manage staff harassment. The UK has a particular challenge in this respect. The British Retail Consortium warn that UK retail crime is now “spiralling out of control” with 20 million incidents in 2023/2024, costing UK retailers £2.2bn, up from £1.8bn in the previous year. In fact in the UK, verbal and physical attacks, violent threats, and sexual and racial abuse in shops rose to more than 2,000 incidents a day in the year to end 31 August 2024, up from 1,300 the previous year and more than three times the…

Lightsource bp, a leading developer and operator of utility-scale renewable energy projects, achieved a significant milestone in 2024 by securing 10 power purchase agreements totaling 1.3 GW across Europe, the Americas and APAC. This achievement underscores the company’s experience and track record in delivering renewable energy solutions, tailored to meet the diverse needs of corporate and utility buyers across global markets. As energy buyers worldwide increasingly prioritise cost competitiveness and energy resilience, the renewable energy market continues to grow. To date, Lightsource bp has contracted with leading global corporations such as H&M Group, Microsoft, LyondellBasell and Google, which have committed to ambitious renewable energy procurement targets. These contracts demonstrate the rising demand for flexible and tailored corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) that align with operational business strategies and longer-term sustainability goals. Lightsource bp’s continued success stems from the experience and highly specialised track record of its in-house Power Markets team,…

Simply Cups, a recycling program by Australia’s Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, has reached a milestone – collecting and recycling 50 million paper cups across Australia and New Zealand. Traditional paper cups are often lined with plastic, making them difficult to recycle through standard systems. With the Simply Cups initiative, the cups are given a second life through recycling and repurposing efforts. It has more than 1500 collection points and accepts various cups such as coffee, soft drinks, Slurpee, frozen yogurt, and more. Rob Pasco, MD of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, credits the achievement to community support. “Once the community knows they can recycle their paper cups separately, they make sure they return their cup daily thanks to our many convenient collection locations,” Pasco said. The program’s pioneering partner was 7-Eleven, making 690 location points accessible to the public. Additional locations include schools, universities, shopping centres, office buildings, construction sites, and event…

Viva Energy has produced its first ISCC+ certified bio-based polymer from used cooking oil (UCO), at its Geelong Refinery, an innovation that sets the stage for producing food-grade recycled plastic packaging in Australia. The development follows a proof-of-concept trial in which Viva Energy processed a batch of UCO through its catalytic cracker and adjacent polypropylene plant in Geelong, Victoria. The UCO was sourced from snack manufacturer Intersnack ANZ in New South Wales, where it had been used in the production of popular snack brands such as Kettle Chips, CC’s, Natural Chip Company, Thins, and Cheezels. Later this year, Intersnack ANZ plans to use the resulting ISCC+ certified bio-based material to manufacture plastic packaging for some of its snack products. The initiative complements Viva Energy’s ongoing plastic recycling project with Cleanaway. As part of the trial, Cleanaway collected and processed the UCO to remove impurities before delivering it to the Geelong…

Site is strategically located on the A4 in Hammersmith, and is first existing bp retail site to be transformed into new format EV charging and convenience hub Fuel has been removed from the Cromwell Road site in west London and five ultra-fast 300kW bp pulse chargers installed, capable of charging 10 cars simultaneously The site features an upgraded convenience offer, designed specifically with EV drivers’ needs in mind, including a new freshly made to order wildbean cafe menu and M&S Food range bp today announces the launch of its first new format EV charging and convenience hub at Cromwell Road on the A4 in Hammersmith, London. Fuel has been removed from the site and five ultra-fast bp pulse 300kW chargers installed, each capable of charging two cars simultaneously, with canopies over the chargers. Along with a redesigned convenience store, with upgraded wildbean cafe and M&S Food offer, to cater especially…