Unilever has joined the growing number of FMCG firms pledging to take significant action to tackle plastic waste.
The consumer goods giant is currently responsible for producing 700,000 tonnes of new plastic a year. It is now promising to reduce its use of virgin plastic packaging by 50% by 2025, with one third (more than 100,000 tonnes) coming from an absolute plastic reduction.
This will be achieved by switching to selling more reusable packs, concentrated refills and using alternative materials, including recycled plastics in its containers.
It has also pledged to help collect and process more packaging than it sells in order to create a circular economy for recycled plastic.
Unilever stated that it was already on track to achieve its existing commitments to ensure all of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, and to use at least 25% recycled plastic in its packaging, also by 2025.
Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope commented: “Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment. We can only eliminate plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical action at all points in the plastic cycle.
“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. We are also committed to ensuring all our plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable.
“This demands a fundamental rethink in our approach to our packaging and products. It requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like re-use and re-fill formats, at an unprecedented speed and intensity.”
Unilever has already started changing its product range to cut back on plastic waste. Earlier this year, it introduced a refill product for its Cif cleaning sprays and wrapper-less ice cream multipacks for its Solero brand. It has also been testing refill stations for shampoo and laundry detergent in south-east Asia.
The company’s latest pledge follows similar announcements by several other multinational FMCG firms in recent months. Procter & Gamble has stated that it plans to halve the amount of plastic it uses by 2030, whilst Nestlé announced that it would phase out all non-recyclable plastics from its wrappers by 2025. Coca-Cola has also promised to double the amount of recycled plastic it uses, whilst actively encouraging consumers to recycle.
