Nestlé today announced that it will invest up to €1.9 billion (CHF 2 billion) to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.
Building on its 2018 commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, Nestlé will reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period whilst working with others to advance the circular economy and endeavor to clean up plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers, the confectionary giant said.
“No plastic should end up in landfill or as litter,” said Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé.
Schneider highlighted that making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for it's industry.
"That is why in addition to minimizing plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable," he added.
"We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey.”
Willing To Pay A Premium
Packaging innovation, including new materials, refill systems and recycling solutions, is another key challenge on the path towards a waste-free future.
To create a market, Nestlé said that it is committed to sourcing up to two million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics and allocating more than CHF 1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) to pay a premium for these materials between now and 2025.
By eliminating the plastics we don’t need, innovating in areas like reuse models and new materials, and circulating the plastics we do need -- also in more challenging food grade applications -- we can create an economy where plastic never becomes waste," said Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
"Achieving the commitments announced today will significantly contribute towards realizing this vision.”
Cocoa Sustainability
The Kit Kat-maker is making a concerted effort to meet shoppers’ eco-friendly needs.
In December last year, Nestlé is announced it's plans to invest €45.5 million (45 million Swiss francs) a year on efforts to source cocoa sustainably.
The company said that it aimed to have 100% sustainable cocoa sourcing in its confectionary products by 2025.
Nestlé currently sources 68% of the cocoa in its confectionary products from sustainable sources, while just under half the cocoa it uses in all its cocoa-based products comes from sustainable sources.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
