The Qantas green Vegemite strategy
Don't panic, this isn't another iSnack debacle and Vegemite isn't changing colour.
I've noticed a welcome change on recent visits to Qantas lounges: there are no longer individual packets of margarine, butter, Vegemite and jam on offer.
Instead, there are large plates of butter and margarine, and jars of spreads for you to use.
A sign in the lounge explains what's going on:
With a strong focus on the environment, Qantas Domestic Lounges have removed single portions of butter and margarine from our offering. This change alone has significantly reduced the amount of single-use plastic products we have in Lounges right across Australia. Thank you for being part of shaping a greener future with us.
It's a sensible move (though I can imagine a few germophobes freaking out in the background). The volumes of food that Qantas goes through is surprisingly large. For instance, the Sydney Domestic Lounge alone churns through 200kg of liquorice allsorts each week.
It also fits in with Qantas' broader green strategy, which has included trialling zero-waste flights and matching customer contributions to carbon offsetting.
The evolution isn't quite complete yet. In the Sydney Business Lounge, I noticed Vegemite and jam being served from jars. In Adelaide, the Vegemite was still in packets. That's likely because there were still supplies left to use up.
Hopefully we'll see that shift in the near future. As well as being environmentally unfriendly, individual Vegemite sachets are by far the most expensive way to buy Vegemite in a supermarket, as our Finder Vegemite price comparison report notes.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears regularly on Finder.
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