More sustainable packaging: Nestlé reveals progress and strengthens its commitment in Portugal and Europe

Food and beverage market leader Nestlé has revealed that 81.9 per cent of plastic packaging in its global portfolio is recyclable. At a press conference on the company’s sustainability progress, the multinational reinforced its commitment to halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The multinational has pledged to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable and to reduce the use of virgin plastics by a third, a goal that has already been reduced by 10.5% since 2018, the base year for reduction. This commitment means using more recycled material, creating more reusable packaging, or removing it entirely where possible. In early 2020, Nestlé announced an investment of up to CHF 2 billion to accelerate the use of food-grade recycled plastics and the development of innovative packaging solutions, as well as creating a CHF 250 million sustainable packaging venture capital fund.

In order to make progress on its circularity commitments, there have been solid efforts in both packaging design (D4R: Designed-For-Recycling) and the development of recycling infrastructure (S4R: Systems-For-Recycling). Regardless of the type of material used in packaging, any packaging material is considered effectively recycled if there is an infrastructure system in place to support its recycling.