Procter & Gamble has announced significant progress with its European sustainability projects, as it seeks to meet its ‘Ambition 2030’ goals.
P&G has been working to drive the circular economy for recycled plastic in Europe through the use of circular resin in its hair care packaging (PET) and its Ariel liquid detergents bottles (HDPE).
Commenting on the progress, Virginie Helias, chief sustainability officer at P&G said,“2020 is a year where action – collaborative action – will put us on the right trajectory”.
“For P&G, 2020 will be a year of regenerative action, where we will activate our Ambition 2030 goals across our brands, through innovation and transformative partnerships,” and “address the challenges of plastic waste, water scarcity and biodiversity loss,” Helias added.
Recycled Packaging
P&G Hair Care Europe will be trialling the new recycled plastic material packaging for its Pantene products, starting with the brand’s clear bottles. The material is made from the advanced recycling of polyethylene terephthalate Circular PET, that can be used multiple times in beauty packaging.
The new material will be produced by Indorama Ventures and is suitable for all brands packaged in PET bottles.
Partnership Agreement
P&G recently entered into a new five-year partnership agreement with UK recycling and energy recovery company Viridor. The new agreement follows a three-year collaboration between the two companies to produce sustainable packaging from post-consumer waste.
The partnership aims to recycle and reprocess high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic for re-use in Ariel laundry detergent bottles. The company is aiming to reduce the use of virgin plastic bottles in its Ariel products by 200 million units over five years.
Viridor’s high-density recycled polyethylene (rHDPE) resin will enable Ariel to reach its commitment of having up to 50% recycled content for its liquid products by this year.
Ariel has also committed to have fully recyclable packaging for its products by this year, and reduce plastic usage by 30% over the next five years.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Elizabeth Schroeder. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
