Coop Italia has decided to accelerate its commitment to environmental protection by pledging to make its private-label packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2022.
The commitments, undertaken to support a European Union proposal to eliminate single-use plastics by 2025, include transforming the packaging of bottles of mineral water, house and fabric cleaners, and fruit and vegetable trays, as well as introducing reusable boxes for fresh produce such as fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.
Increasing Sustainability
By December 2019, 30% of the 27 Coop water references will have packaging made of recycled materials, increasing to 50% in January 2023. Out of the 600,000 crates used for fruit and vegetables, 40% already contain recycled plastic – a figure that will go up to 60% in 2025.
Coop will also work on special projects, such as initiatives to remove plastic from marine environments and providing environmental information to consumers.
Coop said that, since the eighties, it has taken part in environmental protection initiatives, which have included banning pesticides and encouraging the use of tap water or mineral water from nearby sources. There has been a strong adherence to its environmental practices, with 328 cooperative suppliers involved in the process of improving production sustainability.
Coop has already replaced some single-use plastic products (such as plates, cups and swabs) with biodegradable and compostable materials.
By 2022, all Coop-branded products, amounting to a commercial value of about €3 billion per year, will be made with recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging materials, while those of the eco-friendly Vivi Verde line will reach this goal by the end of 2o19.
Global Problem
Other retailers have pledged to reduce their use of plastic in recent months. In April, Morrisons, in the UK, pledged that by 2025 all of its own-brand plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable, while Lidl's Belgian arm announced plans to reduce its plastic usage by at least 20% and make all of its private-label packaging recyclable by 2025. In mid-July, Kaufland Romania announced that it would reduce plastic consumption by at least 20% across all its operations by 2025.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
