Nestlé has joined the list of global brand owners who committed to the New Plastics Economy set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF). Nestlé now has a goal to accomplish the gold standard of 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025.
To meet the New Plastics Economy gold standard, Nestlé announced the inauguration of the new Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences. A spokesperson for Nestlé stated their objective to minimize the environmental impact of their packaging. With the facilities and available resources, the new institute will be able to move forward in discovering and developing new materials for packaging without having to compromise safety and functionality while considering its environmental impact. The institute will also collaborate with Nestlé Research when it comes to analytics and safety.
Nestlé's new institute will be located in Lausanne, Switzerland and is a part of the company's global research organization. A state-of-the-art laboratory complex and facilities for rapid prototyping will be available for the 50 people that the new institute will employ, of which, 20 are new employs. The institute will be working closely with a number of experts and academic partners. Start-ups and suppliers will also be joining in some of the researches. All new materials shall be properly tested out before Nestlé would approve them for use.
One example of a project that Nestlé is working on is the NaturALL Bottle Alliance. The company is working in collaboration with Danone and Origin Materials to utilize 100% renewable materials in producing PET water bottles.
With their goal to deliver highly-performing packaging solutions that are environmentally friendly, the institute will be facing a lot of issues as plastic waste is a vast topic. However, Nestlé reiterates that their focus will be on polymers that are recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable. They will also look into functional paper and new packaging concepts, together with increasing the recyclability of packaging even though the material is plastic.
The spokesperson for Nestlé also pointed out how the importance of minimizing the environmental impact of their packaging is taken into consideration as well as the importance of plastic packaging when delivering their products safely to consumers. The possibility for specific approaches targeted towards specific areas could be the answer. The company's long-term vision is to keep their packaging, even those that are plastic, out of landfills, oceans, seas, and waterways.
The new institute is scheduled to release their first research results by mid-2019.
