Kraft-Heinz outlines bold sustainability agenda
Kraft-Heinz is expanding its environmental commitments to include sustainable packaging and increased carbon reduction.
The company aims to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025 and pledges to set science-based goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This announcement, an addition to its Growing a Better World strategy released in last year’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, supports the company’s broader efforts to improve the sustainability of its supply chain.
“Our collective industry has a massive challenge ahead of us with respect to packaging recyclability, end-of-life recovery and single-use plastics,” said Bernardo Hees, Chief Executive Officer at Kraft Heinz. “Even though we don’t yet have all the answers, we owe it to current and future generations who call this planet ‘home’ to find better packaging solutions and actively progress efforts to improve recycling rates. That’s why Kraft Heinz is placing heightened focus on this important environmental issue.”
This announcement is just one of several within in the month of July alone, as other retail leaders, such as Starbucks, announced their energy efficient and waste reduction goals. The coffee shop giant announced big plans for fulfilling its $10 million commitment to developing a fully recyclable and compostable global cup solution. Starbucks believes it starts by simply eliminating the use of the single-use plastic straw by the year 2020.
Although the global packaging target is a new initiative by the company, it is no stranger to declaring its advancement towards sustainability goal of its packaging. The company recently exceeded its commitment to reduce the weight of its global packaging by 50,000 metric tonnes. Additionally, Kraft Heinz Europe is working to make the recyclable Heinz Tomato Ketchup PET plastic bottle fully circular by 2022, by using recycled material that can be made back into food-grade packaging.
In addition, Kraft Heinz is accelerating its transition to a low-carbon economy by joining the Science Based Targets Initiative, a joint initiative of Carbon Disclosure Project, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund. The company says that the joint effort is targeted on working to set science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals in its supply chain. Adoption of these particularly aggressive targets is aimed at helping avoid a global temperature increase of more than two degrees Celsius.
“We found that most of our emissions are coming from areas outside our direct operations. To truly succeed as champions of sustainability, we will look at our full value chain and determine where we can make the greatest impact for our planet,” said Hees.
The company plans to announce these new science-based goals when their current commitments expire in 2020.
The Kraft Heinz Company is the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world. Brands of the company include Kraft, Heinz, ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Smart Ones and Velveeta.