Five years after the launch of the Global Commitment by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) and UN Environment, progress has been made, but it falls short of expectations according to the latest progress report.
Published today (31 October 2023), the EMF’s Global Commitment 2023 Progress Report reveals that although signatories, which include major food and beverage companies such as Nestlé, Danone, PepsiCo, and Unilever, have taken positive action to address plastic waste, they are likely to miss crucial plastic targets by the 2025 deadline. Additionally, with only 160 of the 1,000 organizations backing the Global Commitment being food and beverage companies, a significant portion of the industry has yet to take action. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation warns that the world is still “far off track” in addressing the plastic pollution crisis.
One area of focus for the Global Commitment is virgin plastic, with the goal of reducing its use in packaging. While many brands and retailers have made progress in reducing their virgin plastic packaging, the overall reduction achieved by Global Commitment signatories since 2018 is only 0.1%. This lack of progress is primarily due to increased virgin plastic packaging use by a few large organizations. Among the top 10 FMCG players by revenue, companies such as PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, and Mars Inc. have increased their use of virgin plastic since their baseline years. Furthermore, while the use of virgin plastic has remained relatively stable for signatories, the market as a whole has increased its use by 11% over the same period, indicating a lack of action from non-signatory players.
The EMF report also highlights the target of ensuring that 100% of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. While 74% of brands and retailers have increased or maintained their percentage of packaging falling under these categories, as a group, signatories are only 64.5% of the way towards reaching this target. In the past year, their share of reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging has actually decreased by 0.9%. Some food and beverage companies, such as Danone and The Coca-Cola Company, have made progress in this area by redesigning their packaging to enhance recyclability and increase the use of recycled PET.
The report indicates that it is unlikely that signatories will achieve their targets by 2025. Nestlé acknowledges this and emphasizes that achieving these goals is not solely the responsibility of FMCGs. Governments and consumers play their parts as well. Governments need to invest in waste collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling facilities, while individuals need to actively choose to use these systems. Nestlé has already made strides in product redesign for recyclability, with close to 82% of its plastic packaging designed for recycling as of the end of 2022. The company aims to reach more than 95% by 2025 and ultimately achieve 100% recyclable or reusable packaging.
While voluntary efforts have shown some progress in addressing plastic pollution, stronger measures are needed. The report suggests that binding policies and regulatory measures, combined with increased business action, are essential to combat the plastic pollution crisis. According to Sander Defruyt, Plastics Initiative Lead at EMF, progress is possible on a global scale, but without significant action, the world will not eliminate plastic waste and pollution. Nestlé’s Roussell supports the idea of more enabling regulations to drive the industry towards reduced plastic packaging. She believes that a shift from voluntary corporate commitments to compliance with new regulations is needed for greater progress.
In conclusion, the EMF’s Global Commitment has seen some positive steps taken by food and beverage companies to address plastic waste. However, there is still much work to be done to meet the targets set for 2025. Stronger measures, including binding policies and greater business action, are required to fully tackle the plastic pollution crisis and ensure a sustainable future for the food and drink industry.
