Sustainability
Just like our little stars, we're taking small steps toward reducing our impact on their world.
We are actively committed to creating a sustainable future for now and generations to come. Sustainability doesn’t just mean doing what matters within our own walls and borders, but it requires us to be responsible citizens in the “global village”.
With innovation at the forefront of our goals, we aim to maintain the highest sustainability thresholds possible, towards preserving the environment, minimizing our environmental impacts, and creating real benefits for people at every step.
Benefits for the Environment
Sustainability began with thinking about how we impact the environment, but now it means so much more. It is about finding a balance between health and self-care, and taking care of the planet, with the recognition that the two are interconnected.
- Recyclable packaging: we are a proud member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organization (APCO), with the goal of implementing completely sustainable practices through improvements in packaging design and procurement, use of recycled/renewable materials, BPA-free alternatives, labelling to promote recycling and packaging recovery initiatives.
- Sustainably grown botanicals: our extensive array of flowering herbal plantations are maintained according to permaculture principles, with pollination provided by our own resident bee colonies, and maintained through a 4500 square meter network of rainwater catchments, operated with solar power contributions.
- Sustainable bee-derived materials: our bee colonies don’t just pollenate our plants, but busily produce a range of nutritional and skin-friendly substances, including our MBc Herbal Honey. We follow a rigorous, sustainable apiology and beekeeping program, based on all-year-round flowering plants at Yinnar, as well as dedicated conservation bushland areas for natural grazing at Langsborough, which supports the biodiversity of local floral species.
Circular & Sustainable Economy
Part of our dedication to sustainability means addressing our economic footprint. We aim to transition to less taking and more giving
- Focusing on products with proven safety and effectivess: spending resources on the research and development of products that work, represents a more efficient way creating real worth
- Working towards reclaiming value and energy from waste: this is also part of environmental sustainability, but it is based on diverting and upcycling resources, rather than throwing them away. This principle applies to many of our ongoing land management practices.
- Diversified agriculture: means that instead of growing botanicals and food ingredients separately, they are grown together with companion plants, just as nature intended. This supports biodiversity and saves costs in the long-run.
Responsible Sourcing
Certified Organic ingredients
Our Little Étoile Organic baby food range is Australian Certified Organic (ACO). To be certified organic, our farmers must avoid most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers; manage soil fertility through sustainable practices like tillage, crop rotations, composting; and avoid genetic engineering and sewage sludge. Livestock and poultry are given 100 percent organic feed, not treated with antibiotics or hormones, and given access to the outdoors year-round.
Grass-fed milk
Our Little Étoile Nutrition formulas are produced with grass-fed Australian cow’s milk, from happy cows raised on the clean, green pastures of Victoria, including the Gippsland region.
Grass-based diets are more sustainable due to using fewer energy-intensive inputs and, by regularly moving animals to fresh pasture and keeping them away from streambeds, they spread the manure more evenly and improve the quality and quantity of forage growth.
Non-GMO
We prefer to use ingredients that have not been tampered with through genetic manipulation, so that they are closer to how nature intended them to be.
Sustainable Partnerships
Our suppliers, contract manufacturers and testing partners are committed to sustainable goals and responsible practices, such as:
- Use of renewable energy sources and efficient consumption
- Environment regeneration
- Low-carbon dairy practices
- Farming techniques that lower greenhouse gas emissions
- No hormones, and limited use of antibiotics
- Animal health & wellbeing
- Supporting independent and local farmers
- Use of recyclable and compostable packaging
- Being transparent about traceability and operating procedures
- Providing natural, organic and vegan alternative ingredients, instead of harsh synthetics and harmful chemicals
- Cruelty-free testing procedures
Real Benefits for People
Our social and ethical responsibility goals are focused on the health, wellbeing, and welfare of the people we have made promises to, through our products. But we have taken a step further to the wider community we work in.
- Tailored products with real worth: according to our IQS system, we choose to devote our resources to products and essentials for the optimal growth, health and wellbeing of children and adults. This approach conserves and streamlines materials and energy costs.
- Ethical integrity & conduct policy: looking after the people that look after our products, from the supply to the usage end, and everywhere in between is critical to maintaining sustainable partnerships and processes that benefit everyone.
- Education & early learning initiatives: aiming to instill a love of learning and a “planting seeds” earlier towards a deeper understanding of science and nature, through:
- Practical STEM: a specialized program to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) courses, based at our EcoSynergy Zone, MBc Research Parks, Yinnar, Gippsland, and STEM Centre, South Yarra, Melbourne.
- Children’s Books: a lovingly created range of kids’ stories to inspire an understanding healthy living and how families work
- Online resources: our educational activities are supported by interactive, web-based portals for events through our kids’ STEM and Young Sparks networks.
Community Outreach
Little Étoile believes that we are all part of the same global community, drawing from the same health resources and growing the next global generations of little stars for the future. From all the feedback we have received and taken on board, we understand the need for a “feed-forward” approach to community engagement – in other words, giving back more of ourselves.
Max Biocare Research Parks
At the Max Biocare Research Parks we focus on engaging, supporting and adding value to the local rural community.
We purchase all equipment and supplies locally, to contribute to supporting local economic growth. We also engaging with local community in various conservation projects, including tree planting and sustainable beekeeping.
At our dedicated EcoSynergy Zone, we display and model permaculture processes, as well as host specialized STEM and sustainability programs for local school children and external tour groups.
Young Sparks
Our little stars are the bright sparks of tomorrow! This free program with global outreach was developed exclusively by Max Biocare, and was established with the aim of helping children and families access extra-curricular learning and development opportunities through events, activities, courses and scholarships.
Young Sparks Academy has partnered with a variety of groups including Tornelo and the Australian School of Entrepreneurship to host a range of exciting and engaging events since its inception in 2019, including international Chess tournaments and learning days.
Nurture Central
An online platform hosted by Max Biocare, repersents a trove of free, accurate and evidence-based information for family health and well-being. Featuring valuable insights from expert professionals in the areas of infant & children’s health, maternal health and conception.
Nuture Central have “conceived” the idea of “Nurtition”, a unique concept that combines the principles of wellness through nutrition with elements of nurturing, because getting the right knowledge to enable parents to care for our next generation of stars makes our ability to care for then even better.
Mums & Bubs Health and Nutrition Group
An online Facebook community group, run by the nutrition team at Max Biocare, which supports and educates mums-to-be and mums of infants and toddlers in the area of health and nutrition.
Mums from our community group have actively participated in research that has helped to mould and “nurture” our products into what they are today, a growing family of quality products. So, indirectly our products are also designed by mums, for mums.
Charity donation
We provide regular donations of our products (food and medicine) and monetary donations to charities and community groups in need such as Food Bank, Salvation Army, Uniting, and St Kilda Mums. We donated over 25,000 products (valued at nearly $100,000) across 2020-2021 .
We responded to the Australian Bushfire crisis in 2019/20 by donating $15,000 a range of organizations across the key areas of emergency services, humanitarian relief, and animal welfare including The NSW Rural Fire Service, The Australian Red Cross and WIRES Wildlife Rescue.
International community support
We run annual programs in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Laos to support local communities and organizations via donation of money and products (food and medicine), event sponsorship, building community gardens and community education initiatives.
Our presence in these international markets has helped us to understand that there are still thousands of children growing up there under socially and economically challenging conditions. We feel it is part of our responsibility to give back when and where we can.