Chocolate producer helping the environment

Plant-based, gluten- free organic chocolate producer Pana Organic will be walking the walk on July 28 when it aims to plant up to 2,000 new trees on the Mornington Peninsula.

It will be part of its annual tree-planting initiative, building on the existing Pana Organic forest.

 
Aligned with National Tree Day, Pana Organic will be planting native plants without pesticides to ensure they are helping build habitats for native wildlife in Hastings/Somers.

Pana Organic says it wants the event to bring community together and work together for the greater good of our planet.

The founder of Pana Organic, Pana Barbounis, says events like this are important to him and the entire Pana Organic brand.

Pana Organic has teamed up with Fifteen Trees and the Somers/Hastings Koala Habitat Project for the initiative. 

Coordinated by the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation (MPKC), the project sees partners plant trees in existing koala corridors, thereby encouraging koalas out of urban areas and away from the many threats they face. 

‘To achieve our goals, we need funding to purchase trees for the wildlife corridors. All money received goes directly towards bringing our project and goals to life," Dirk Jansen, co-ordinator at The Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation said. 

“Thank you to Pana Organics and Fifteen Trees for your assistance in purchasing trees on our behalf and, indeed, for coming out to plant too.” 

The revegetation project is also backed by Mornington Peninsula Shire, Parks Victoria and the Department of Defence. 

Undergarments, and the mysterious art of branding

There are few more mysterious arts than coming up with the right name for a brand.

Take the Toyota Kluger (anyone know what a Kluger is?) or the Mitsubishi Lettuce?

Sometimes a change in branding make sense. When people became more health conscious, Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded as the altogether healthier-sounding KFC.

This week, the Banyan Tree group, known for luxurious high-end wellness and spa resorts around the world, announced it was rebranding as the Banyan Group.

So instead of being known for a very attractive tree, the group now wants to be identified with an Indian underwear garment similar to a vest. That's truly baffling.

But some marketing guru was no doubt handsomely paid for a change that will cost the company millions in new logos, stationery, signage etc.   

Look it up:

A Banyan tree is a fig, the branches of which produce aerial roots which later become accessory trunks. A banyan is a loose flannel undergarment worn in India.

The hotel group announced the re-branding thus:

"This year, we are proud to be celebrating 30 years of pioneering hospitality, from a single luxury brand to a portfolio of 12 brands. This milestone is marked with a brand shift from "Banyan Tree Group" to "Banyan Group”. As we enter into this landmark year, we continue to focus on delivering exceptional, design-led experiences across hotels, spas, residences, food and retail catering to evolving traveller preferences and needs."

A press release says: This brand shift reflects the Group's evolution into a dynamic, multi-brand hospitality powerhouse.

"Since 2019, the Group has doubled its brand portfolio, bringing its pioneering spirit, design-led experiences, and purpose driven mission to new destinations, including Banyan Tree AlUla in Saudi Arabia, Garrya in Kyoto, and Folio in Osaka, Japan, Dhawa in Ho Tram, Vietnam, Homm in Huzhou, China and Banyan Tree Dubai in the United Arab Emirates."

There is much enthusiasm about the new brand.

“As we celebrate the Group’s 30th anniversary and its evolution into Banyan Group, this milestone is not only testament to the Group’s enduring success in the hospitality industry but also sets the stage for an exciting future,” said Eddy See, president and CEO of Banyan Group.

“This brand evolution reflects our portfolio transformation from a single luxury brand to the diverse offering we have today."

OK. If you say so.

I just wonder how many customers will understand, and embrace, the change. Some might not even realise Banyan Tree is now named after a piece of underwear. 

 

Winery promises to plant 100,000 seed pods as part of sustainability message

Sustainability is key driver of sales in the modern wine world, and in an effort to re-forest and re-vegate land in Australia, environmental restoration company AirSeed has partnered with St Hubert's The Stag.

Over the next 12 months, Yarra Valley-based St Hubert's has committed to planting seed pods for 100,00 trees via AirSeed’s advanced drone technology across Australia.

Planting at a rate almost 25 times faster than manual planting, the GPS-tracked seed pods improve habitats that have been affected by extreme weather conditions and climate change.

AirSeed creates tailored seed pods specific to the requirements of the landscape it is planting in, encasing each seed in a bespoke mineral and nutrient case to help support uptake and plant growth rates.

Using AI and state of-the-art technology, drones fly around the chosen sites, dropping and recording the location of each seed pod.

Additionally, St Hubert's The Stag will also begin moving towards new packaging featuring lighter-weight bottles with a portion of recycled glass content.

Greg Jarratt, the St Hubert’s The Stag winemaker, says the new partnership is an exciting step for Treasury Wine Estates-owned winery.

“With our roots quite literally embedded in agriculture, it’s crucial as an industry we do what we can when it comes to preserving the Australian landscape," Jarratt says.

"St Hubert’s The Stag has long had a focus on the wilderness, so the opportunity to partner with AirSeed was a natural fit.

"Together, we’re committed to helping re-wild some of Australia’s most fragile ecosystems and
we’re incredibly proud to help champion AirSeed’s vital work.

“This partnership allows for genuine and impactful engagement - friends of the winery can be
brought on the journey, knowing St Hubert’s The Stag is making a tangible contribution to
rewilding in Australia.

Additionally, the initiative makes a great talking point at social gatherings or a truly meaningful gift.”

Andrew Walker, the AirSeed CEO and co-founder, says: "St Hubert’s The Stag’s intention to not
only restore land at scale but engage their grower networks and customers in meaningful
ways, creates an opportunity to bring attention to the vital work required to preserve our
natural world.”

St Hubert’s was named after the Patron Saint of the Hunt – a 7th-century nobleman. The wines originate from the Yarra Valley, Heathcote and other premium wine growing regions across Victoria.

For more information see www.sthuberts.com.au.

Tree planting underlines sustainability focus at Howard Park

The team at Howard Park recently planted more than 350 trees along the Wilyabrup Brook on their Margaret River property.

The plantings celebrated a sustainability milestone for the family-owned producer, which recently became a certified member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.

The certification was approved after a review of the winery's business practices and the enactment of a Sustainability Action Plan for the winery and two vineyard sites.

The Burch family and team members - including chief winemaker Nic Bowen (above) - spent a day with the gardening team planting the trees.

This tree-planting was part of a long-term plan to re-establish a wildlife corridor from both ends of the family winery's property.

SWA is the national program for grape growers and winemakers promoting those producers dedicated to working with the land in a more holistic and environmentally friendly way.

“As a second-generation family business that works in harmony with the land, we know first-hand the challenges a changing environment has on the wines we produce, and our philosophy has grown and evolved in response to that," says general manager and marketing director Natalie Burch.

"Ultimately our aim is to leave our sites and beautiful region in a better state than how we received it.

“The vineyard and the winery teams are passionate about finding new and innovative solutions to work with the natural resources available to us more sustainably. The SWA initiative provides us with a wonderful framework to set that up successfully.”

Some of the key areas Howard Park focused on for its SWA recognition include better record-keeping systems in the vineyard and winery, tighter biosecurity controls, reviewing and managing inputs like plastic waste, and formulating these changes in the Sustainability Action Plan.

Native tree species in this planting included Marri, Banksia, Swamp bottlebrush, Peppermints, and Paperbarks, which will provide food, nesting sites, and connectivity for the movement of species including the Western ringtail possum.

See www.howardparkwines.com.au/provenance/viticulture-sustainability

How to make your train journey green and huggable

It has never been more cool to be green. 

Businesses are constantly coming up with ideas to make themselves more eco-friendly than than their rivals.

A new train ticketing platform launched this week in Britain is promising to plant a tree for every booking, which it hopes will appeal to passengers who care about climate change. 

Trainhugger says it will use 50p out of each £1.50 booking fee to pay for a young tree, in partnership with the Royal Forestry Society and Royal Scottish Forestry Society, The Guardian reports.

The company – which offers the same fares as other rail sites – aims to match a UK Government target of planting 90-120 million trees a year

The website will sell the same UK routes and fares as other rail websites. 

Trainhugger’s founders believe they will be able to win enough business from rivals to make a considerable contribution towards combating climate change. They hope to plant 10 million trees by 2025.

“If rail gets back to where it was pre-pandemic - and Trainhugger sold 5% of those passenger journeys - that would be 90 million bookings or 90 million trees," said Felix Tanzer, who co-founded the company with Ed Caldecott.

Each 50p donation covers the price of a “whip”, a baby tree shoot smaller than a sapling, but the costs of the land, and planting and maintaining the tree are covered by members of the RFS. 

But surely that slogan should be" "Same price, more trees"?