December 25, 2021
CORPORATE ACTION
Gartner Forecasts 90% Failure Of Companies To Meet 2025 Sustainability Pledges
Gartner, Inc. is predicting that 90% of companies’ 2025 sustainable packaging commitments will not be met by 2025. Data from the market research firm revealed that current dependence on plastic and single-use packaging is the main factor preventing enterprises from meeting their public sustainability pledges. Companies need to take action to execute Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), as an increasing number of countries plan to or have enacted EPR legislation. Enterprises must reduce single-use packaging and develop or cooperate with other companies to come up with sustainable packaging solutions.[Image Credit: © Gartner, Inc]
CORPORATE ACTION: Beiersdorf
Beiersdorf Partners With Salvaco, Nussbaum Matzingen To Come Up With Environment-Friendly Aerosol Packaging
Beiersdorf has been collaborating with Salford Valve Company Ltd. (Salvaco) and Nussbaum Matzingen AG to improve the sustainability of its products’ packaging. The skincare company is launching its NIVEA ECODEO line of men’s deodorant with Salvaco’s environment-friendly aerosol technology, and has been working with Nussbaum Matzingen to develop aerosol cans made from 100% recycled aluminum.[Image Credit: © Beiersdorf ]
CORPORATE ACTION: Colgate
Colgate-Palmolive Launches Tooth-Friendly, Sustainable Toothbrush In India
Colgate-Palmolive in India has launched its Colgate RecyClean, a toothbrush with a 100% recycled plastic handle. The company said the toothbrush was designed to be environment-friendly while helping consumers protect their oral health. The toothbrush bristles are made from plant-derived materials and come with no BPA. The toothbrush is available on Amazon and comes in recycled packaging.[Image Credit: © Colgate-Palmolive]
CORPORATE ACTION: L’Oréal
L'Oréal Turns To Veolia For Supply Of High-Quality, Food-Grade Recycled Plastic For Packaging
Veolia has agreed to supply L'Oréal with high-quality recycled plastic for cosmetics packaging worldwide. Veolia will produce the recycled plastic by processing plastic packaging waste from consumer products. The recycling company will also ensure that the recycled plastic meets the food industry’s safety requirements.[Image Credit: © Veolia ]
CORPORATE ACTION: Mars
Mars Wrigley Introduces M&M Treats With Sustainable Packaging In US
Mars Wrigley has launched M&M’s theater boxes packaging in the United States. The company has removed the plastic overwrap from the theater boxes, eliminating 98 metric tons of plastic waste each year. The snacks company has started releasing the product with updated packaging in September 2021.[Image Credit: © Mars]
Mars Petcare Plans To Launch Petfood Products With Food-Safe Recycled Plastic Packaging
Mars Petcare plans to release on the market wet petfood products in food-safe recycled plastic packaging in 2022. The company will make its SHEBA brand of cat food the first to be sold in the environment-friendly packaging in Europe. The move is the result of the company’s collaboration deal with SABIC and Huhtamaki announced in November 2020.[Image Credit: © Mars]
CORPORATE ACTION: PepsiCo
PepsiCo Beverages North America Invests $15 Million In Closed Loop Partners’ Leadership Fund
PepsiCo Beverages North America has announced a $15 million investment in Closed Loop Partners’ Leadership Fund. The private equity fund acquires and develops companies, including those in the packaging value chain, to help expand recycling infrastructure and develop circular supply chains. Circular supply chains help prevent materials from ending up as waste in landfill.[Image Credit: © PepsiCo]
CORPORATE ACTION: Procter & Gamble
P&G Remains Focused On 2030 Plastic Pledge Despite Challenges
Procter & Gamble’s VP of Global Sustainability, Jack McAneny, talked about the company’s 2030 plastic pledge, including its enabling factors and challenges. He said the company is aware that some countries are disproportionately high sources of plastic getting into the ocean and P&G is working on how to help promote waste management in these locations. The company is also a member of sustainability initiatives, including Circulate Capital and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.[Image Credit: © Procter & Gamble]
P&G Says Shortage Of Recycled Plastic Disrupts Sustainable Packaging Efforts
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Procter & Gamble is finding it hard to source the recycled plastic it needs for more sustainable packaging. It has pledged to make its packaging 100% recyclable or reusable and cut its use of virgin petroleum plastic by 50% by 2030, but global supply chain issues are making it harder to meet those goals. P&G is collaborating with suppliers to increase their production of recycled plastic and is working to develop new processing technology for easier recycling of materials, such as polypropylene.[Image Credit: © Procter & Gamble]
CORPORATE ACTION: Tesco
Tesco Improves Toilet Paper Packaging’s Sustainability By Putting More Paper Onto Rolls
The UK retailer will reduce plastic packaging by 67 tons each year by “fitting more paper onto each roll or winding rolls more tightly” when packaging toilet paper. The company has replaced its 24-roll own-brand toilet paper with its new 12-pack “double rolls”. Tesco said it will need 17 fewer trucks to transport the toilet paper rolls from the supplier to its distribution facilities.[Image Credit: © Tesco plc]
CORPORATE ACTION: Unilever
Investor Claims Unilever Focused Too Much On Sustainability Reputation
Fundsmith Equity founder and CEO Terry Smith generated some publicity after claiming that Unilever has put more emphasis on “publicly displaying sustainability credentials” instead of “focusing on the fundamentals of the business”. Current and former Unilever executives have come in support of the company’s focus on sustainability, while some have expressed agreement with Smith’s statement.[Image Credit: © Fundsmith ]
Seventh Generation Remains Focused On Sustainability Efforts Despite Pandemic
Seventh Generation is a leader in plant-based product formulas and in packaging that is “source reduced” and with the highest post-consumer recycled (PCR) content possible. The pandemic, however, has seriously disrupted the company’s operations, according to CEO Alison Whritenour. Despite the business challenges, employee disruption and large increases in demand for the company’s products, Whritenour said Seventh Generation has remained focused on its commitment to sustainability.[Image Credit: © Seventh Generation]
CORPORATE ACTION: Other
Iceland Partners With Mondi To Reduce Plastic Packaging By 80%
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Iceland has agreed to use Mondi’s functional barrier paper to reduce by 80% the plastic used in the frozen food retailer’s packaging. The move is part of Iceland’s efforts to eliminate plastic packaging by the end of 2023. Mondi’s paper-based packaging technology is made from sustainable and renewable resources, with paper production and coating processes conducted in-house.[Image Credit: © Mondi Group]
SC Johnson Launches Plastic Recycling Program On Chile’s Lemuy Island
SC Johnson revealed the launch of the Recover and Transform plastic waste recycling program on Lemuy Island in Chile’s Chiloé Island province. The company has partnered with La Ciudad Posible, Compromiso Empresarial para el Reciclaje, the Luxembourg Project, and Karün, with the support of the Municipality of Puqueldón and the Ministry of Environment in launching the program. The program started with an evaluation of the locale’s existing waste management system and is aimed at providing sustainability solutions, including the installation of a waste-collection center, beach cleaning events, and public education.[Image Credit: © SC Johnson]
Unilever Partners With Alibaba Group To Promote Sustainable Shopping In China
Unilever and Alibaba Group have committed to collaborate on developing environment-friendly supply chains and creating more digital marketing to promote sustainability. They have also agreed to promote environment-friendly and sustainable products. Alibaba will launch “green-shelf spaces” across its online stores, while Unilever has pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by reducing packaging waste and reusing shipping boxes.[Image Credit: © Unilever plc]
CAMPAIGNS, COMMITMENTS & NGOs
Amazon Produces More Than Half Billion Pounds Of Plastic Packaging Waste
Amazon generated a total of 599 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2020, a 29% increase from 2019. Data from Oceana estimates the amount of plastic waste, in the form of air pillows, can circle Earth more than 600 times. Also, Oceana estimates that as much as 23.5 million pounds of the total waste entered the world’s waterways and seas. Oceana also claims that the online retailer’s recycling pledges and claims do not add up and do not lessen Amazon’s huge plastic packaging waste footprint. In India, however, Amazon’s recycling programs and efforts to remove single-use plastic packaging are helping the company reduce its plastic pollution problem.[Image Credit: © Amazon]
ALLIANCES, PARTNERSHIPS & JVs
Unilever, Asda Collaborate With WRAP To Study Consumer Behavior When Using Refill Stations And Reusable Packaging
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Unilever and retailer Asda have agreed to work with sustainability charity group WRAP to study customer behavior toward refill stations and reusable packaging. Innovate UK will help finance the study, which will closely look at consumer behavior at home, in-store, and post-purchase back at home. The study aims to come up with answers that will help promote reuse and refill systems that will satisfy the needs of consumers who want to protect the environment in a “cost-effective and convenient way”.[Image Credit: © WRAP]
CONSUMER & PUBLIC OPINION
Study Highlights Public Awareness Of Problems Linked To Plastic Waste In UK
In the UK, 67% of citizens say plastic waste is an important personal issue for them, with 56% saying improving packaging’s recyclability would be the most important packaging innovation. UK Research and Innovation helped finance the study, which also revealed a decrease in the proportion of respondents who say they recognize three important benefits of food packaging: keeping products safe and hygienic; keeping products fresh longer; and protecting the product in the home.[Image Credit: © WRAP]
Study Shows Growing Consumer Sustainability Awareness And Support
Consumer understanding of sustainability is growing, with 57% of respondents saying they believe large companies are responsible for taking actions to help protect the environment. Results of the Hartman Group’s “Sustainability 2021: Environment and Society in Focus” study revealed that 54% of consumers believe governments must take responsibility for promoting sustainability, while 42% think individuals should take top-level responsibility. Also, the study revealed that 44% of consumers say they are willing to radically change their lifestyles to adopt a sustainable way of life.[Image Credit: © Hartman Group]
MARKET NEWS
above&beyond Launches Lip Balm With Non-Plastic, Refillable Packaging
UK-based startup above&beyond has launched a lip balm product with plastic-free, refillable, and reusable packaging. The lip balm is available in four different flavors and four colored durable aluminum cases. Refills are free from plastic and come with a biodegradable and compostable outer casing.[Image Credit: © above&beyond]
IGD Study Highlights UK Consumer Adoption Of Reusable Grocery Packaging
In the UK, 41% of consumers have already adopted reusable grocery packaging to help reduce their impact on the environment. Data from the report “How To Help Consumers Adopt Reusable Packaging,” published by the Institute of Grocery Distribution, revealed that another 42% of respondents said they are considering using reusable packaging. The study aimed to determine consumer attitudes toward reusable grocery packaging, as well as find out the factors that could potentially help drive consumer adoption.[Image Credit: © IGD]
England’s Waste Recycling Rate Drops To 43.8% In 2020–2021
The recycling rate in England dropped to 43.8% for the financial year 2020–2021 from 44.5% in the previous year. Data from the waste statistics team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showed recycling rate for calendar year 2020 dropped 1.5 percentage points from 45.5% in 2019. Also, the total amount of recycled waste dropped to 9.9 million tons in calendar year 2020 from 10.1 million tons in 2019. Defra statistics also reveal waste volumes increased by 1.3% to 25.9 million tons in 2020–2021, while landfill volumes fell by 200,000 tons to 2 million tons.[Image Credit: © DEFRA]
DS Smith Says More Than 170 Million Pieces Of Problem Plastic Replaced With Sustainable Options
DS Smith said it has replaced 170 million pieces of problem plastic with paper-based packaging solutions for supermarkets and online retailers worldwide since the launch of its Now and Next Sustainability strategy in 2020. The London-based packaging company also revealed that it has removed an average of more than 2 million pieces of single-use plastic from packaging and store-display products. DS Smith has developed more than 1,000 fully recyclable fiber-based packaging solutions for “hundreds of thousands of products”.[Image Credit: © DS Smith]
UK Recycling Group Report Shows Significant Achievements, Calls For More Recycling Efforts
In the UK, plastic packaging of products sold in supermarkets decreased by 10% from 2018, according to the UK Plastics Pact’s 2021 report. The report published by WRAP also revealed that “problematic and unnecessary plastic items” declined by 46% during the same period, highlighted innovations in recycling plastic bags and wrapping by expanding front-of-store collections, and called for more investment from industry in recycling infrastructure in the country.[Image Credit: © WRAP]
PACKAGING REDESIGNS
Refillable Toothpaste Tube Helps Reduce Waste Produced By Regular Tubes
Product designers Pelin Özbalcı and Sergen Çağlayan have developed the Mimo refillable toothpaste tube, designed to be sustainable and environment-friendly. Each tube comes with a refilling basin that includes a pressure pump and a transparent lower half that shows the toothpaste level and prevents overfilling.[Image Credit: © Pelin Özbalcı and Sergen Çağlayan ]
Footprint Plans To Launch Sustainable, Plastic-Free Yogurt Cup In 2022
Footprint plans to launch a “plastic-free, recyclable, compostable yogurt cup” in the later part of 2022. The company’s SVP Jeff Bassett said the Footprint’s molded fiber products, which can be recycled and composted but offer barrier properties similar to those of plastic packaging, are a better option than so-called eco-friendly paperboard with plastic liners. The company is leveraging packaging technologies it has used in mac & cheese cup and frozen foods packaging to come up with the environment-friendly yogurt cup.[Image Credit: © Footprint ]
Suntory Launches Plant-Based Bottle For Orangina And Suntory Tennesui Brands
Suntory Group announced the launch of a plant-based bottle prototype for its Orangina brand in Europe and the Suntory Tennensui brand of bottled water in Japan. Suntory has partnered with US-based sustainability technology company Anellotech for almost a decade to come up with the plant-based bottle. The move is part of the company’s efforts to promote a plastic circular economy.[Image Credit: © Suntory Group]
EMERGING IDEAS, THEMES & TRENDS
Provenance Joins Forces With Valpak And WRAP To Help UK Consumers Find Packaging Recycling Options
Software solutions provider Provenance has partnered with Reconomy Group company Valpak, and UK-based recycling charity group WRAP to help provide consumers with information on how to recycle types of packaging in their respective communities. Consumers can enter their postcode into the Recycle Router app to determine if a certain packaging can be recycled using kerbside collections. The tool can also point them to the nearest recycling facility that accepts that packaging.[Image Credit: © WRAP]
RESEARCH
2021 Studies Reveal Potential Environmental Horrors Linked To Plastics
Several reports and studies highlighted the problems linked to the plastic industry and plastic pollution in 2021. Google released a report showing that a “status quo” plastic industry would result in 7.7 gigatons of plastic waste ending up in landfills, incinerated, or polluting the environment by year 2040. Beyond Plastics published a study predicting that greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production will overtake those from coal powerplants by 2030, and the American Chemical Society said that about 24% of the 10,400 chemicals identified in plastics are potentially toxic.[Image Credit: © Google]
Study Shows More Microbial Enzymes That Can Degrade Plastics Being Discovered
There is a growing number of microbial enzymes capable of degrading plastic, according to researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Results of their study, published in the “Mbio” scientific journal, revealed that many different enzymes have been discovered in previous studies. Researchers used computer modelling to look for microbial enzymes with potential to degrade plastics.[Image Credit: © American Society for Microbiology]
OTHER NEWS
Coffee Pod Makers Need To Adopt Recyclable Packaging For Sustainability
There are three possible steps to take to make coffee pods packaging more sustainable. Coffee pods are designed to be a convenient way for coffee lovers to get their cup of caffeine liquid, but the single-use packaging is not sustainable. The first option to make coffee pods environment-friendly is refillable pods; second would be a degradable pod that can be processed by the normal waste stream. Leading coffee pod systems, however, have chosen recyclable packaging as the way to achieve sustainability.[Image Credit: © Diermaier]
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