UNILEVER, the company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry’s; Persil; TRESemmé and Hellman’s, has announced that by 2025 it will halve its use of virgin plastic and also help collect and process more of the plastic packaging it sells.
Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, said, “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’s commitment will require the company to deliver investment and partnerships aimed at improving waste management infrastructure across the countries it operates in.
Alan Jope added, “Our vision is a world in which everyone works together to ensure that plastic stays in the economy and out of the environment. Our plastic is our responsibility and so we are committed to collecting back more than we sell, as part of our drive towards a circular economy. This is a daunting but exciting task which will help drive global demand for recycled plastic.”
