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Unilever to reduce plastic packaging by 50%
7th Oct 2019 08:21
(Sharecast News) - Unilever vowed to reduce its use of virgin plastic packaging by half by 2025 and to shift towards making greener versions of it.
The owner of popular brands such as Dove, Comfort and Sure currently uses 700,000 tonnes of plastic a year.
To cut usage by half, the company will have to scrap its absolute usage by 100,000 tonnes and switch to reusable packs and refill containers.
It will also have to change the materials employed in the packaging and use of recycled plastics.
The change could make shampoo refill stations, cardboard deodorant sticks and toothpaste tablets the norm at the supermarket.
Its chief executive, Alan Jope, said: "Plastic has its place but that place is not in the environment. Our starting point has to be design, reducing the amount of plastic we use, and then making sure that what we do use increasingly comes from recycled sources."
Rethinking production "requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like reuse and refill formats," he said.
Jope added: "Our plastic is our responsibility and so we are committed to collecting back more than we sell, as part of our drive towards a circular economy. This is a daunting but exciting task which will help drive global demand for recycled plastic."
Unilever said that by 2025 it expects to be collecting and processing around 600,000 tonnes of plastic a year - equal to its reduced overall footprint, and to be using no more than 350,000 tonnes of virgin plastic.
The owner of popular brands such as Dove, Comfort and Sure currently uses 700,000 tonnes of plastic a year.
To cut usage by half, the company will have to scrap its absolute usage by 100,000 tonnes and switch to reusable packs and refill containers.
It will also have to change the materials employed in the packaging and use of recycled plastics.
The change could make shampoo refill stations, cardboard deodorant sticks and toothpaste tablets the norm at the supermarket.
Its chief executive, Alan Jope, said: "Plastic has its place but that place is not in the environment. Our starting point has to be design, reducing the amount of plastic we use, and then making sure that what we do use increasingly comes from recycled sources."
Rethinking production "requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like reuse and refill formats," he said.
Jope added: "Our plastic is our responsibility and so we are committed to collecting back more than we sell, as part of our drive towards a circular economy. This is a daunting but exciting task which will help drive global demand for recycled plastic."
Unilever said that by 2025 it expects to be collecting and processing around 600,000 tonnes of plastic a year - equal to its reduced overall footprint, and to be using no more than 350,000 tonnes of virgin plastic.