Supporting Sustainability Leadership Case Study: David Jones

‍David Jones, one of Australia’s most iconic premium retailers, is known for delivering exceptional customer experiences across 40 stores in Australia and New Zealand, and a growing e-commerce presence. As part of its ongoing commitment to responsible retail, David Jones is actively working to reduce the environmental and social impact of its packaging – without compromising on quality, increasing costs, or the customer experience. 

The goal was clear – deliver sustainability costs at zero cost or better. Aligning environmental impact with commercial value isn’t just a nice to have – it’s essential if we are to deliver lasting change.

With packaging touchpoints spanning fashion, accessories, beauty, and homewares, David Jones engaged Phantm to assess current formats, materials, and processes across the business. 

The goal was two-fold:

• Primary goal: Identify simple, actionable steps to reduce their packaging impact, without the immediate need for full packaging redesign, with limited or no operational disruption.  
• Stretch goal: As part of discovery, gather insights to inform more transformational change down in the future. 

The opportunity

Targeted optimisation, not total overhaul.

Sustainability teams are often caught between ambitious long-term targets and short-term operational realities. At David Jones, the team recognised that meaningful change doesn’t have to start with radical redesigns. Instead, the focus was on making existing packaging work harder and smarter, while building internal knowledge and alignment around what’s possible, why it matters and what to prioritise to achieve both impact and cost reduction in the longer term.

Considerations

With limited time and resources, sustainability leaders need more than good intentions. They need data, tools, and strategic support. Phantm provided David Jones with a comprehensive overview of their packaging footprint, using our proprietary technology to map impact, benchmark performance, and recommend data-driven changes. Our insights helped identify opportunities for both cost savings and environmental gains – unlocking up to 10x ROI on the work completed.

What worked

Phantm worked closely with David Jones to deliver:

• Evolution, not revolution – Practical implementation pathways tailored to David Jones’ existing systems and processes. 
• Reduction opportunities – Clear actions to reduce emissions, waste and materials placed on market. 
• Cost savings – Improvements identified across materials, logistics, and operational efficiencies.

Building the business case for change

The work empowered the David Jones sustainability team to:

• Strengthen their influence across the business, backed with clear, credible evidence that resonated with senior stakeholders.
• Build internal alignment around smarter, lower-cost packaging decisions.
• Lay the groundwork for future optimisation, using data to guide decision-making.
• Engage commercial and procurement teams using cost modelling and impact metrics and analysis.
• Initiate supplier conversations grounded in actionable, real-world insights for achievable change.
• Highlight the critical role of technology – and the need to embed smarter packaging decisions across all business functions.
• Move forward with clear, tactical next steps.

"Phantm helped us identify opportunities to substantially reduce both our packaging costs and environmental footprint without needing to start from scratch. Their insights gave us clarity on where we could act fast and what changes would bring real impact.” — Dana Katie King, David Jones Sustainability Manager - Environment

Conclusion

By combining consulting expertise with smart packaging technology, Phantm helped David Jones move beyond compliance – towards meaningful, measurable change.

For sustainability leaders with ambitious goals and lean teams, Phantm provided the evidence, insights, and support to accelerate action and amplify impact.