SPAIN – Carrefour sets out to be the first distribution firm to market Spanish UHT milk in an ecologically sustainable packaging called Combibloc EcoPlus, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by 28% compared with the former packaging.

This has been achieved by replacing the aluminum cap on any carton of milk with a polyamide one, while preserving the quality of the milk.

The product is available in three formats: whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed.

Carrefour is currently developing a packaging eco-design plan.

Some of the key lines of action of this initiative are the elimination of unnecessary packaging, the reduction of raw materials, the optimization of container and package size thus reducing the number of vehicles required for transportation, and the use of sustainable, recycled and recyclable materials.

Over 350 products have been optimized in the last year alone as part of this strategy involving both international companies as well as local suppliers and manufacturers.

Carrefour is also in cooperation with SME, Aquadeus whereby it has optimized the Carrefour 2-litre water bottle by cutting its plastic (PET) content by 20%, a reduction of over 14 tons of PET a year.

Also, with the SME, Granja Virgen del Rosario, Carrefour egg packaging has been improved by replacing the virgin polymer material the lid was made from with a recycled polymer and reducing its size, making it possible to load more packs per pallet so that fewer trucks are required for transportation.

January 20, 2017.