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NASDAQ: MDLZ $65.36 USD -0.19 (0%)
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We are committed to sustainable packaging that protects our products, delights our consumers, and does not harm the environment. To this end, we take a strategic approach focused on driving toward net zero waste packaging through less and better packaging and improved systems, leveraging innovative partnerships to improve recycling globally. Our aim is to play our part in advancing a circular pack economy for packaging that is good for people and the planet.
Making It Light and Right
In 2021, we introduced an enhanced strategic approach to continuously improve our packaging, focused on three key areas: less packaging, better packaging, and improved systems. Our aim is to achieve net zero waste by 2025 and support development of a circular pack economy by 2050. Our guiding principle is to make packaging light and right while collaborating, innovating and investing in improved systems to increase recycling globally.
Our strategy relies on all three parts coming together, with less packaging, better packaging and improved systems reinforcing each other for bigger impact. Learn more about each of these three parts below.
Less Packaging
Our focus on less packaging includes keeping our packaging light and safe with low environmental impact. It also involves reducing the overall footprint of our packaging, and designing packaging for consumer reuse and refill where feasible.
Opening a “Zero Waste” Retail Store
In partnership with Travel Retail Norway, we have opened a “zero waste” Cocoa Life store at Oslo Airport. It uses displays of natural wood made entirely of wood off-cuts from other units, with living plants “woven in” to emphasize the sustainability story.
Making the Packaging Smaller
At our Jussy plant, in France, we introduced new packaging for Napolitain biscuits – reducing the volume of the box by 20%. This saves 500 metric tonnes of packaging a year.
Setting a New Goal to Reduce Virgin Plastic Packaging
We set a new goal to reduce by at least 25% virgin plastic use in our rigid plastic packaging or a 5% reduction in virgin plastic use in our overall plastic packaging, assuming constant portfolio mix, by 2025.
In the UK in 2021, we removed more than 6.4 million plastic windows from Cadbury Easter Inclusion Shell Eggs – reducing plastic by 5.4 tons for the Easter 2021 season. We also introduced a simplified and optimized cardboard-only pack structure, made with 98% sustainably sourced cardboard. We also added a “Be A Good Egg” on-pack recycling label in partnership with OPRL, the UK’s most recognized recycling label to encourage consumers to dispose of their packaging responsibly.
In Australia, we removed PVC plastic windows from 7.5 million Cadbury Favourites boxes – eliminating 8 tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic per year. We also transitioned to local sourcing of packaging materials for Cadbury Favourites and removed clay coating to improve recyclability. These packaging sustainability improvements delivered a 23% reduction in CO2e emissions. In 2021, we also supported the introduction of a U.S. Federal recycling scheme that takes into account the various types of plastic packaging used across the industry.
In 2021, we also supported the introduction of a U.S. Federal recycling scheme that takes into account the various types of plastic packaging used across the industry.
Better Packaging
By better packaging we mean making our packaging recyclable and removing challenging materials. Also, substituting virgin (new) plastic packaging with alternatives including recycled plastic content. This way, we’ll help create a circular economy.
A key goal for us on this front is to have all our packaging designed to be recyclable by 2025. We are getting closer and closer to this – achieving 95% in 2021.
All our paper and carton board, and some rigid plastics and flexible plastic films are already designed to be recycled.
Wrapping More Cadbury Dairy Milk in Recycled Packaging
We have innovated to make Cadbury Dairy Milk block wrappers up to 30% recycled plastic in 2022 in the UK, Ireland and Australia. We’ve invested in using recycled soft plastic, produced using advanced technology, to make this possible. Our new packaging will wrap more than 28 million chocolate block bars in 2022.
Replacing PET Around the World
In 2021, we replaced around 600 metric tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flexible packaging used for biscuit brands such as Club Social produced in our Peru and Brazil plants. Part of our ‘Designed for Recycling’ program, the plastic virgin use was reduced by 5%.
In Vietnam, China and Bahrain, we also converted over 1,410 metric tonnes of biscuits packaging from PET to sustainable plastic. And in India, we improved our Cadbury Celebrations Gift box tray – changing from difficult-to-recycle High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) to recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET), using 80% recycled content, and changing the color of the plastic from black to purple to make it easy to detect for recycling at the sorting facility.
And in India, we improved our Cadbury Celebrations Gift box tray – changing from difficult-to-recycle High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) to recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET), using 80% recycled content, and changing the color of the plastic from black to purple to make it easy to detect for recycling at the sorting facility.
Improved Systems
Through improved systems, we aim to collect as much plastic as we put into the environment; lead the development of capabilities to scale the necessary infrastructure; and advocate for extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to include plastic packaging, especially packaging made from flexible plastics.
Turning Plastic Waste Into Construction Materials
We have invested in a project in India to transform multi-layered plastic food packaging waste into construction materials. Wealth out of Waste Boards (WoW Boards) uses technology from female-led start-up, TrashCon, in India. Each year, WoW Boards converts around 600 tons of flexible, multi-layered plastic into boards for use in construction and manufacturing. We’ve also enabled local Mondelēz International colleagues to support the project through skill-based volunteering.
Focusing on Plastic in The Philippines
In the Philippines, we’re helping to repurpose 130 million tons of multi-layer and single-use plastics. In early 2021, we partnered with several food manufacturing and consumer goods companies through the Plastic Credit Exchange Partnership in the Philippines, and also collaborated with small enterprises. Our focus was on building capabilities to enable a circular economy for plastic, with a goal of collecting 130 million tons of post-consumer plastic for processing and recycling.
In addition to this program, we’re working with industry groups across the Philippines and other South East Asian countries to form a roadmap to increase plastic collection and recycling rates. Moreover, we have worked with advocacy group Save Philippine Seas to help everyone better understand the issue of plastic waste and marine litter – from the causes of plastic pollution in the sea to how people can help tackle the problem themselves at home.
| Goal | Progress | 2021 PERFORMANCE |
|---|---|---|
| 5% recycled plastic content by 2025 | On target | 0.5% |
| 5% reduction in virgin plastic by 2025 | In progress | +4% |
| 25% reduction in rigid virgin plastic by 2025 | On target | -4% |
| 100% packaging designed to be recyclable by 2025 | On target | 95% |
Working Together
To help create lasting positive impact on the world of packaging, we participate in and collaborate closely with many different organizations, including:
