The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is pleased to advise that one of its Life Members Keith Chessell FAIP has been recognised for his significant contribution to the packaging industry over the last 50 years with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Packaging Organisation (WPO).

Keith has had 46 years with the one company in the Food, Beverage & Confectionery industry (Parsons, Cottee’s, Schweppes, Pepsi, Cadbury, Kraft/Mondelez). Over that extensive period, he was involved in a range of management roles including raw & packaging materials procurement, research and development involving the innovation and launch of new products and the relaunch of existing products and packaging.

Keith has a broad experience with food & beverage packaging materials, procurement and equipment and is recognised as a leading packaging technologist in ANZ. Over the last 17 years his focus has been in the training, education and assisting individuals and manufacturers in understanding the importance of sustainable packaging design. In more recent years he has been actively involved with the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) in providing packaging technical expertise for industry-based Sustainable Packaging and Save Food Packaging programs for Australia and NZ.

In the last ten years in particular Keith has been an active volunteer for the AIP and represents the Institute on the Standards Australia EV-021-03 Environmental Labelling Committee, is the AIP Board newly-appointed Board Member on the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is on the APCO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Keith has been a stalwart of the Australia and New Zealand packaging community for close to 50 years and since his retirement he has invested even more time in giving back to the industry. Keith has a true passion to ensure that packaging technologists and designers better understand Sustainable Packaging and Save Food Packaging and the AIP are proud that he is a part of the Institute. Keith Chessell is a truly kind and generous person who always helps everyone around him with no hesitation.

Keith has invested a significant amount of volunteer hours into the Sustainable Packaging TAC and the Standards Committee; all during his retirement. Keith also provides technical support and leadership for the AIP’s partnership in the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Fight Food Waste and also served as the AIP’s representative on the National Food Waste Strategy Manufacturing and Distribution Supply Chain Advisory Group.

He has also played an active role in the development of the Save Food Packaging Design Award, as a judge in the annual Packaging Innovation & Design Awards for ANZ, as a lecturer of the Role of Packaging in Minimising Food Waste training course and has been a lecturer in the Master of Food & Packaging Course for the AIP since its inception four years ago.

Keith has been a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Packaging (FAIP) since 2008 and was awarded AIP Life Membership in 2018 for his recent contributions to industry education in Save Food Packaging, Fighting Food Waste and Sustainable Packaging in Australia and New Zealand

Keith has been a significant contributor to the technical side of all of the AIP industry-based Save Food and Fighting Food Waste programs with the Federal Government National Food Waste Strategy and also the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre.

Keith’s packaging technical expertise have ensured that the AIP programs are realistic and suited to packaging technologists and designers. He is an integral part of this team and has invested hundreds of hours in volunteering his time and knowledge to ensure that both programs have been developed and are underway in Australia and New Zealand.