The companies behind brands such as Dove and Hellman are currently working to reduce their virgin plastic footprint by 30% by 2026 and 40% by 2028. Previously, Unilever had targeted a 50 percent reduction from 2019 levels by 2025; The report says there will be an 18% decrease by 2023.
In addition, the company aims to make all rigid plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2030; For flexible materials, the target year is 2035. The company has been working towards a goal of achieving 100% of all plastic packaging by 2025; By 2023, that number will have reached 53%. Unilever has maintained its 2025 target to use 25% recycled plastic in its packaging and to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells.
Unilever is considered an early leader in ESG efforts among consumer goods companies, while aligning its ESG targets around workforce diversity and wages. CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement on April 19 that the updated target was "very tough" for Unilever, but also "unabashedly realistic."
Unilever is not the only company making such changes ahead of the 2025 deadline. On the packaging manufacturer side, SEE revealed last year that it was preparing to revise its 2025 sustainability and materials commitments. Starbucks last year permanently scrapped its goal of making all hot cups recyclable or compostable by 2022. This year, the coffee chain said it aims to make all of its "consumer-facing" packaging recyclable or compostable by 2030.
01. What has changed since 2018
As part of the company's sustainability agenda for the period 2018-2020, the packaging sustainability goals have increased significantly.
In 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation created a "Global commitment" for brands and retailers to rethink plastic packaging, laying the groundwork for the UK Plastic Convention and other plastic convention organisations around the world.
This commitment has since expanded to more than 1,000 organizations. A sobering 2023 progress report from EMF shows that the share of recyclable, compostable and reusable plastic packaging by brands and retail signatories has increased by just two percentage points since the pledge was introduced five years ago, Leading the EMF to state that "most organizations will almost certainly miss the 2025 target of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging." The group points to limitations in flexible packaging and infrastructure. The use of virgin plastics across the signatory group has also been flat since 2018.
At the same time, the foundation reports that the global Plastics Convention has increased recyclability, compostability and reuse design by 23 percent, and increased recyclable content in packaging by 44 percent. The EMF said it will release a report in June on the lessons learned and impact of the Plastics Convention network over the past six years.
Launched in 2020, the US Plastics Convention sets out four major goals and a roadmap to 2025, including a goal to make all plastic packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. Its list of participants includes Unilever, Amco, Avery Dennison, Eastman, Clorox, Kraft Heinz and dozens of other companies - accounting for one-third of U.S. plastic packaging production by weight. By 2022, about 48 percent of all plastic packaging put on the market by USPP participants will be recyclable, compostable or reusable, the organization said.
"I think as an industry we are more aware of what is feasible and what is possible around the sustainability goals," said John Black, senior director of packaging analyst at Gartner.
In early 2023, Gartner research indicated that 20% of brands, particularly consumer goods, will abandon the common goal of recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025, as they realize that the feasibility of fully achieving the goal is fading. At the time, Gartner predicted that companies would tend to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging.
"I expect some changes to happen by 2025, so we're starting to see those changes," Black said. In the last year, he has seen companies focus on reducing packaging waste and reducing their reliance on virgin plastics. Companies that initially set aggressive targets later learned more about the availability and availability of recycled materials, the compatibility of recycled materials in different products, and what materials are recycled in practice in the United States and different parts of the world.
Black said that while it is unclear whether companies are considering applying the 2025 target to the beginning of the year or the end of the year, it should be clear by now whether there is a way to meet the 2025 target on time. "Even by the end of 2025, everyone should have a good sense of where they stand."
02. The future of goal setting
For many, the reality that the 2025 target will not be fully met is not the only driver of change.
Cheryl Baldwin, vice president of sustainability consulting, marketing and business development at Pure Strategies, said emerging regulations, including expanded producer responsibility laws in the United States, will shape future goals. He said in general terms that regulations create "additional considerations that may change the way some of the goals are set or how they are achieved over time, so I do expect that the goals will change as we get closer to 2025."
Baldwin notes that regulations will not only reshape goals, they will prompt more companies to set them. This growth could also mean a greater diversity of targets. The EPR and the Recycled Content law will push companies beyond "standard end-of-life reusable, recyclable, compostable targets."
This may take the form of more company-specific goals in the future. "I think there's a need to really adjust the target based on the packaging that manufacturers are using and the products they're making," Black said. "I think what we found was just a blanket target that hasn't been proven to be viable regardless of the product, industry or packaging."
Baldwin noted that as U.S. regulations increase the importance of packaging for many companies, they need to consider how packaging fits into climate, nature, or recycling goals. "I think one of the things that could happen over time for some of these companies is a bigger picture of what their overall goals are." They will see some strategic opportunities and a broader perspective than just "exercises like regulatory compliance checkboxes."
Black said it's good practice for companies that change their goals to be transparent before key dates. "Acknowledging what has been able to deliver and where challenges remain, while companies have pulled back from some aspects of sustainable packaging, they may be doubling down on others." Gartner will also continue to monitor whether there is strong opposition to such changes or greenwashing claims."
Black says the key first question for organizations developing a sustainable packaging strategy is: What does sustainable packaging mean for your organization? It may include packaging's carbon footprint, recyclability, use of recycled materials, lack of virgin plastic, or other factors. "There's no single definition," Mr. Black said. "We're starting to see more detail on the specifics of the goal."
The companies behind brands such as Dove and Hellman are currently working to reduce their virgin plastic footprint by 30% by 2026 and 40% by 2028. Previously, Unilever had targeted a 50 percent reduction from 2019 levels by 2025; The report says there will be an 18% decrease by 2023.
In addition, the company aims to make all rigid plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2030; For flexible materials, the target year is 2035. The company has been working towards a goal of achieving 100% of all plastic packaging by 2025; By 2023, that number will have reached 53%. Unilever has maintained its 2025 target to use 25% recycled plastic in its packaging and to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells.
Unilever is considered an early leader in ESG efforts among consumer goods companies, while aligning its ESG targets around workforce diversity and wages. CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement on April 19 that the updated target was "very tough" for Unilever, but also "unabashedly realistic."
Unilever is not the only company making such changes ahead of the 2025 deadline. On the packaging manufacturer side, SEE revealed last year that it was preparing to revise its 2025 sustainability and materials commitments. Starbucks last year permanently scrapped its goal of making all hot cups recyclable or compostable by 2022. This year, the coffee chain said it aims to make all of its "consumer-facing" packaging recyclable or compostable by 2030.
01. What has changed since 2018
As part of the company's sustainability agenda for the period 2018-2020, the packaging sustainability goals have increased significantly.
In 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation created a "Global commitment" for brands and retailers to rethink plastic packaging, laying the groundwork for the UK Plastic Convention and other plastic convention organisations around the world.
This commitment has since expanded to more than 1,000 organizations. A sobering 2023 progress report from EMF shows that the share of recyclable, compostable and reusable plastic packaging by brands and retail signatories has increased by just two percentage points since the pledge was introduced five years ago, Leading the EMF to state that "most organizations will almost certainly miss the 2025 target of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging." The group points to limitations in flexible packaging and infrastructure. The use of virgin plastics across the signatory group has also been flat since 2018.
At the same time, the foundation reports that the global Plastics Convention has increased recyclability, compostability and reuse design by 23 percent, and increased recyclable content in packaging by 44 percent. The EMF said it will release a report in June on the lessons learned and impact of the Plastics Convention network over the past six years.
Launched in 2020, the US Plastics Convention sets out four major goals and a roadmap to 2025, including a goal to make all plastic packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. Its list of participants includes Unilever, Amco, Avery Dennison, Eastman, Clorox, Kraft Heinz and dozens of other companies - accounting for one-third of U.S. plastic packaging production by weight. By 2022, about 48 percent of all plastic packaging put on the market by USPP participants will be recyclable, compostable or reusable, the organization said.
"I think as an industry we are more aware of what is feasible and what is possible around the sustainability goals," said John Black, senior director of packaging analyst at Gartner.
In early 2023, Gartner research indicated that 20% of brands, particularly consumer goods, will abandon the common goal of recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025, as they realize that the feasibility of fully achieving the goal is fading. At the time, Gartner predicted that companies would tend to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging.
"I expect some changes to happen by 2025, so we're starting to see those changes," Black said. In the last year, he has seen companies focus on reducing packaging waste and reducing their reliance on virgin plastics. Companies that initially set aggressive targets later learned more about the availability and availability of recycled materials, the compatibility of recycled materials in different products, and what materials are recycled in practice in the United States and different parts of the world.
Black said that while it is unclear whether companies are considering applying the 2025 target to the beginning of the year or the end of the year, it should be clear by now whether there is a way to meet the 2025 target on time. "Even by the end of 2025, everyone should have a good sense of where they stand."
02. The future of goal setting
For many, the reality that the 2025 target will not be fully met is not the only driver of change.
Cheryl Baldwin, vice president of sustainability consulting, marketing and business development at Pure Strategies, said emerging regulations, including expanded producer responsibility laws in the United States, will shape future goals. He said in general terms that regulations create "additional considerations that may change the way some of the goals are set or how they are achieved over time, so I do expect that the goals will change as we get closer to 2025."
Baldwin notes that regulations will not only reshape goals, they will prompt more companies to set them. This growth could also mean a greater diversity of targets. The EPR and the Recycled Content law will push companies beyond "standard end-of-life reusable, recyclable, compostable targets."
This may take the form of more company-specific goals in the future. "I think there's a need to really adjust the target based on the packaging that manufacturers are using and the products they're making," Black said. "I think what we found was just a blanket target that hasn't been proven to be viable regardless of the product, industry or packaging."
Baldwin noted that as U.S. regulations increase the importance of packaging for many companies, they need to consider how packaging fits into climate, nature, or recycling goals. "I think one of the things that could happen over time for some of these companies is a bigger picture of what their overall goals are." They will see some strategic opportunities and a broader perspective than just "exercises like regulatory compliance checkboxes."
Black said it's good practice for companies that change their goals to be transparent before key dates. "Acknowledging what has been able to deliver and where challenges remain, while companies have pulled back from some aspects of sustainable packaging, they may be doubling down on others." Gartner will also continue to monitor whether there is strong opposition to such changes or greenwashing claims."
Black says the key first question for organizations developing a sustainable packaging strategy is: What does sustainable packaging mean for your organization? It may include packaging's carbon footprint, recyclability, use of recycled materials, lack of virgin plastic, or other factors. "There's no single definition," Mr. Black said. "We're starting to see more detail on the specifics of the goal."
