Sustainable packaging at Nestlé: what does it mean and how are we tackling the waste-free future.

Med: Ulla Luhtasela, Nordisk Hållbarhetschef på Nestlé

Our vision is that none of our packaging ends up in landfill or as litter. We are helping to create a future, where cleverly designed packaging, innovative new materials, better recycling infrastructure and reusable or refillable packaging can prevent waste from contaminating the land and oceans. This goal is ambitious, but we are committed to achieving it.

Participation from all levels of society is needed. We support governments in accelerating infrastructure development. We advocate for a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty and the prospect of new, harmonized national regulations to follow.

 

Our five-pillar strategy:

Our Institute of Packaging Science is the only research institute of its kind in the food industry. Set up in 2019, it has around 50 packaging experts dedicated to developing the next generation of sustainable packaging materials. It is helping evolve the way packaging is designed, from developing refillable or reusable packaging systems to using simplified or recycled packaging materials, high-performance barrier papers and bio-based, compostable and biodegradable materials.

Our strategy is structured around five pillars, and, in my presentation, I will give you Nordic examples of each:

1 Reducing our use of plastic packaging material

2 Scaling reusable and refillable systems

3 Redesigning our packaging material

4 Supporting infrastructure that helps to make recycling easier

5 Driving new behaviors