Chantal Organics’ Sustainability Journey

Chantal Organics is committed to cultivating sustainable business practices through awareness, evaluation and innovation to our processes and products.  

Sustainability is a hot topic and an umbrella term used for initiatives and actions that support the planet and its current climate crisis. It is a holistic approach to preserving the earth and its natural resources, as well as promoting a healthy quality of life for all of its inhabitants. 

We do this by promoting organic agriculture and providing certified organic products and produce to our consumers. However, this is just the foundation that holds us while we continue to grow our sustainable journey, constantly making small improvements to keep up with this ever changing and growing movement.

We are inspired by other innovative and amazing NZ companies who make their mark on local and global sustainability. We hope that we also provide inspiration, so together we can all make a difference. 

Find out more about our movement on this ever-increasingly important journey.  

How We use Organic Food for Good

Food is a part of everyone’s life, not only for its nutritional value, but to bring family and friends together, pass traditions and skills onto our children, and bring joy into our lives. Here are a few ways in which we use our organic food company to support you and your family.

1. Chantal Organics provides a range of certified organic pantry staples to support healthy home cooking.

2. Our range of certified organic granolas and spreads are made locally with natural and simple ingredients. 

3. Our website offers a range of delicious and healthy recipes to support all dietary choices and requirements.

4. We aim to educate, inspire and engage with our consumers through blogs and social media about a sustainable lifestyle. This includes topics such as seasonal eating, eating organic on a budget, low waste kitchens, recycling practices, and making climate conscious choices in the home. 

5. We supply fresh organic produce nationwide, while supporting local farmers to choose organic growing practices and gain certifications.

Our Sustainable Business Practices

Sustainability and looking after the planet are important to many of us.  With economic struggles making it hard for people to turn intentions into action, they are looking to the government, as well as, businesses, to show the way. 

We try to make an impact where we can, this includes areas such as a healthy workplace, community involvement, equality, the wellbeing of families, and awareness around waste, clean energy, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. 

As part of our journey, here are seven sustainable practices we are proud of.  

1. We use renewable energy. 

Our production facility is located in sunny Hawke’s Bay. In March 2016, we installed solar panels on the rooftop. The energy we capture from the sun provides power supply for our manufacturing site.  

2. Mindful packaging choices

We are dedicated to choosing sustainable packaging. The glass jars, bottles, and cans we use are kerbside recyclable. Our outer boxes are made with 50% recycled materials and the other 50% is from sustainably certified forests. 

We use Rockstock material for the labels on our jar and bottles. It is made from a tree-free paper, manufactured from waste product from quarries, such as broken stone, marble and tile or from offcuts left over from the building industry. Our retail pouches are soft plastics recyclable, and we are a member of this recycling scheme.  

Many consumers want to recycle, but need clear information about how to do it. To support our consumers play their part, we add clear recycling instructions on our packaging. 

Did you know that as of the 1st February 2024, a national kerbside recycling standard was launched? The intention is to make it easier for all New Zealanders to participate in recycling. Find out what to recycle, where it goes, and why it’s so important to do your part. 

3. On-site Sustainability

Sustainable practices are always being reassessed on site for possible improvements.  In our distribution facilities, all cardboard is reused or recycled, orders are sent on reusable pallets and any broken pallets are given to a local power station to burn for electricity generation. 

Until a better film to wrap deliveries & prevent breakages is available, 100% of the plastic stretch film we use to wrap orders is soft-plastics recycled. All of the paper on site is recycled and retail customers receive paperless invoicing. 

Our nationwide sales team use paper free sales tools out in the trade. 

4. We support organic farming.

Organic agriculture takes a holistic approach that prioritises the long-term health of the soil, land, and waterways to support ecological balance, environmental quality, and healthy workers. Our local and imported ingredients, manufacturing site and products are certified organic by AsureQuality, and labelled clearly on pack to provide transparency for our consumers. 

5. Taking a Zero Waste Approach

We constantly review our waste reduction program.  Any dry goods past the best before date, or surplus fresh produce, that is safe to eat, are given to our team or local food banks. Food waste unfit for humans, feeds local pigs and chickens

6. Community Involvement

Here are a few examples of how we have supported our communities over the last few years. 

• In December 2023, the Chantal Organics team volunteered at Te Taha, “the Gap” in Westshore, Napier to remove invasive plants and support restoration of local native plant populations.

• For the third year, Chantal Organics ran its Christmas Charity Cookie campaign to raise funds for families in need. We donated to the following local charities:  Auckland City Mission, Wellington City Mission, and Nourished for Nil in Napier. 

• After the Hawke’s Bay cyclone in 2023, we donated product to local kitchens to make free community meals. 

• In June 2022, we donated 1000 units of product to Fresh First Food Box, as part of their Pay it Forward Campaign. For every food box purchased online, a special fresh food box is gifted to a family in need. 

7. Building Supplier Relationships

Our team takes the time to build relationships with our suppliers, both locally and globally.  We work with numerous certified organic suppliers, who share a common goal of preserving the earth and its natural resources for the future. Many organic standards include an aspect of protecting human welfare and this ensures we are supporting food suppliers who share our values. 

We continue to work with our packaging suppliers to ensure we are offering up-to-date sustainable packaging solutions. We value these relationships, as together we can effectively move towards our sustainable goals. 

Our Sustainable Partners

We only partner with other sustainably conscious companies that share our values. Learn more about them below. 

1. Loving Earth specialise in making plant-based, organic chocolate that is both sustainable and incredibly smooth. 
2. Clipper Tea offer a range of tea that is natural, fair, and delicious.  
3. Kallo offers a range of wholegrain rice and corn cakes, made with good, honest, natural ingredients and not an artificial additive in sight.
4. Showcase is a paperless sales tool used by our team out in the trade. 

Sustainability is a journey. Its enormity can be overwhelming; however, Chantal Organics is dedicated to finding solutions and offering healthy food choices. We are proud of our team, as it takes each one of us to do what we do.

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