According to Nisa, 41% of consumers perceive sustainable products to be pricier. Thus, accessibility remains a major challenge in the quest for sustainable products. Many brands are reinventing their products to become more environment-friendly, and there is a wave of innovation taking place. Recently, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) pledged to produce all on-the-go bottles with 100% recycled PET plastic (rPET). Amy Burgess, senior trade communications manager at CCEP, explains that the move has doubled their rPET usage, saving 29,000 tonnes of virgin plastic per year.
Perfetti Van Melle has also taken significant steps in the right direction, for instance, replacing plastic sticks in their Chupa Chups lollies with paper ones, reducing 5,000 metric tons of plastic globally. In addition, they launched the Mentos Paperboard Bottle, reducing the packaging in Mentos Gum by 93%. Lactalis UK & Ireland is currently trialling sustainable packaging solutions in its factories, seeking to replace its multi-layered barrier film with a recyclable mono film for block and grated cheddar.
Radox has re-designed its bottles, making them refillable and re-usable, while using 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. The brand also introduced 500ml refill packs that use 74% less plastic. With carbon emissions and the path to net-zero being primary concerns for manufacturers, CCEP plans to become a carbon-neutral business by 2040. All its absolute greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain will reduce by 30% by 2030.
Andrex reduced its energy consumption in the UK by 23% and greenhouse gas emissions by 55%. The brand also removed plastic handles from all wrapped packs and moved all primary packaging to use at least 30% recycled plastic. Mega Roll formats on Andrex Classic Clean have 50% more sheets and up to 22% less plastic packaging, thereby requiring up to 25% fewer trucks to transport.
Overall, tackling plastic waste requires a concerted effort at the global and national levels. As part of the UK Plastics Pact, Perfetti Van Melle has committed to eliminating problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic and making 100% of plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable. With sustainable packaging solutions, businesses can help curb environmental pollution while increasing accessibility through affordability.
