Nestle Intensifies its Sustainable Packaging Transformation Journey

By Martins Ifijeh

Nestle is intensifying effort to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and to reduce its use of virgin plastics by one-third in the same period, the Global Head of Sustainable Packaging, Nestle, Veronique Cremades-Mathis has said.

In a statement made available to THISDAY recently, she said the organisation has announced a series of new initiatives that include a $30 million investment to increase food-grade recycled plastics in some countries.

She said: “87 per cent of Nestle’s packaging is already recyclable or reusable.
We have made strides in our transformative journey towards a waste-free future, but we know that we have more work to do.

“As the world’s largest food and beverage company, we are committed to putting our size and scale to work to tackle the packaging waste problem everywhere that we operate.”

“Even as COVID-19 has presented more challenges, the company’s commitment to sustainable packaging remains the same.

“Nestle continues to play a leading role in helping solve the issue of plastic pollution through its three-pillar approach launched in January 2019 which includes developing new packaging; shaping waste-free future; and driving new behavior.”

According to her, transitioning to paper packaging across various formats was already available in recycle paper wrapper in the UK; design and implementation of affordable and effective mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in over 20 countries; and the rolling out of a sustainable packaging education and training programme for over 290,000 of its employees, to accelerate behavior change and help the company meet its packaging objectives.