USA – Campbell Soup Company has announced new packaging sustainability goals to reduce packaging waste by increasing circularity through keeping materials in use and out of landfills.
Campbell Soup said that its new goals are designed to address all phases of the packaging lifecycle, from sourcing to end-of-life, including recycling or composting.
According to the company, the holistic approach aims to reduce packaging waste through investments in recyclability, use of recycled content, and consumer education and infrastructure with the following four goals:
The food and beverage firm has set out an ambition to transition 100% of its packaging to recyclable or industrially compostable designs and materials by 2030.
Campbell also targets to increase the use of post-consumer recycled content and incorporate 25% post-consumer recycled content into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by 2030.
In addition, the company also plans to drive increases in recycling rates through standardized on-pack labeling by including the How2Recycle label on 100% of packaging by 2022.
“Our new packaging commitments provide a roadmap to further reduce the environmental impact of our packaging over time and build upon our history of sustainability,” said Craig Slavtcheff, Campbell’s Executive Vice President, Global Research and Development.
The company has also committed to expanding access to recycling and advance the development of infrastructure to improve the collection and recycling of packaging by building and investing in partnerships with peers and industry groups.
To date, Campbell remarks that it has made significant progress in reducing waste and encouraging recycling.
In 2019, V8 V-Fusion and V8 Blends multi-serve bottles switched from shrink sleeve labels to wrap labels, allowing the bottles to be easily sorted and recycled in municipal recycling processes.
During the same year, Kettle Brand redesigned their chip bags, resulting in a 43% reduction in plastic and reducing the amount of plastic to landfill by two million pounds per year.
In addition, Campbell has already implemented How2Recycle instructions on many labels and will continue to roll out on additional packaging until 100% of packaging includes recycling instructions by 2022.
As part of its broader sustainability commitments, the company has also surpassed its 2020 targets of reducing green house gases per short ton of tomatoes by 20% as compared to 2012 and has already achieved a 26% reduction.
Campbell has also met its 2020 target to reduce water use per pound of tomatoes by 20% as compared to 2012, having achieved a 25% reduction so far.
By 2025, the company aims to source 50% of each plant-based priority ingredient from suppliers engaged in an approved sustainable agriculture program, source 100% cage-free eggs and responsibly source 100% of priority raw materials.
