Nestle are going green, announcing a further investment in sustainable packaging.
Following a commitment pledged in 2018 to have all their packaging be recyclable or reusable by 2025, the company have announced an investment of CHF 2 billion to shift away from virgin plastic and work towards developing sustainable alternatives.
They are also planning to reduce their use of virgin plastic by a third during this period.
In order to achieve this, they have pledged to source 2 million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics. And they will also establish a fund to invest in start-up companies working in this area.
Nestlé Oceania head of corporate affairs Margaret Stuart said while the company works towards 100% of its packaging being recyclable, leading the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics creating a market will be a game changer.
“Currently, almost a third of packaging in our supply chain in Australia includes recycled content – predominantly in our products packaged in glass and metal, for example our Nescafé jars and Milo tins,” Ms Stuart said.
“While this investment will help us to significantly increase the amount of recycled content we use, it will also trigger action across the broader industry to accelerate the development of innovative packaging solutions. We’ll be working closely with our suppliers and others to look at how we advance our local plastics circular economy.”
Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said he believes no plastic should end up in landfill.
“Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our 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 said.
“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.”