Strategy and goals

We are aiming to halve our virgin plastic by 2025. By 2022, we had achieved a 13% reduction in our virgin plastic footprint versus 2019^(a) – by increasing our use of recycled plastic, combined with innovations that use less plastic, such as alternative packaging materials to help remove plastic entirely from some of our products.

In the UK, for example, Carte D’Or switched its entire range from plastic packs to recyclable paper tubs, which is set to save 900 tonnes of plastic annually. And in France, our laundry brand Skip has introduced a new cardboard box for its 3-in-1 laundry capsules, which is set to save around 6,000 tonnes of plastic from our portfolio per year. See below for more on recycled plastic.

Reuse and refill initiatives are another key part of our plan to halve our virgin plastic footprint. To date, we have conducted around 50 pilots and continue to expand our refill-at-home and dilute-at-home solutions to other brands and markets. For example, we have launched dilute-at-home OMO laundry detergent in Latin America. In 2022, we also launched the first concentrated Dove Body Wash in refillable aluminium bottles, as well as Vaseline’s classic petroleum jelly in refillable glass jars in China.

Historically, we have measured and reported on this target against a 2018 baseline. This baseline was developed using a combination of the best available data and estimates. We continuously review the quality of our sustainability reporting to ensure that we are using the best available data, as our access to data and its accuracy is improving all the time.

In 2022, we took steps to enhance our data accuracy and have developed a more complete view of the virgin plastic used in 2019 than we had for prior years. We believe that this is a more robust baseline for measuring subsequent performance. We have therefore updated our baseline year from 2018 to 2019. We are keeping our target at 50% virgin plastic reduction by 2025, against this new baseline. We have restated our 2021 performance for virgin plastic reduction against the new baseline (8% reduction versus 16% reduction reported previously). In 2022, we delivered an additional reduction of 5%.

Read more about rethinking plastic packaging

Switching to ‘better’ forms of plastic by increasing the amount of recycled plastic that we use in our packaging is one of the ways that we are reducing the amount of virgin plastic that we use. This also helps to keep plastic in a closed-loop system and out of the environment.

We increased our use of recycled plastic to 21% of our total packaging footprint in 2022 – up 3% versus 2021^(a). This puts us on track to meet our target of 25% by 2025. We continue to focus on our biggest brands to drive the greatest impact. For example, our laundry brand OMO (also known as Persil and Skip) uses 25% recycled plastic in its bottles, and up to 100% where possible. Additionally, across Europe and North America, Hellmann’s is using 100% recycled mayonnaise bottles, while Dove uses 100% recycled plastic in its bottles where technically feasible.

One of the challenges we are facing in relation to this target is the availability of high-quality recycled plastic since the recycled plastic that we use has to meet the same technical and safety standards as the virgin plastic we use. This is especially true of recycled plastic used for our food products which requires close collaboration with our suppliers and new technologies to improve the availability and quality of recycled plastic. For example, we are working with one of our partners to provide us with ready access to food-grade recycled plastic for our Magnum pint tubs, which are sold throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Read more about rethinking plastic packaging

Increasing the recyclability of our plastic packaging is one way that we are transitioning to ‘better’ forms of plastic. In 2022, 55% of our plastic packaging was reusable, recyclable, or compostable, based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s definition of ‘recyclable’^(a)(b). Also known as ‘actual recyclability’, this means that it is both technically possible to recycle the material and that there are established examples to recycle the material in the region where it is sold. The percentage of our plastic packaging portfolio that is ‘technically recyclable’ with existing technology is much higher at 71% in 2022.

In 2022, we launched a packaging innovation for Signal and Mentadent in France and Italy, which means that the equivalent of 62 million toothpaste tubes sold during 2022 were technically recyclable. We also introduced recyclable trigger sprays in Europe across a number of brands including Cif, Domestos and Lifebuoy.

While we are making progress on implementing solutions that are technically recyclable, we know that this is only a first step – and that the development of the necessary recycling infrastructure to make our packaging recyclable will take longer.

Flexible packaging materials in the form of sachets and pouches are an industry-wide problem. While these packaging formats help to ensure our products are accessible and affordable for low-income consumers, recycling them is a complex technical challenge which requires different approaches in different countries. We are working on a range of solutions which will reduce our dependence on multi-material plastic sachets, while improving their collection and recyclability.

Read more about rethinking plastic packaging

We’re working to tackle plastic pollution and increase the availability of high-quality recycled plastic through the collection and processing of the equivalent of our total plastic packaging footprint each year. We made good progress in 2022, helping to collect and process 58% of our 2022 global plastic packaging footprint^(a).

Our businesses in India, Indonesia and Vietnam are the latest markets to have collected and processed more plastic than they sold, through physical waste collection and the purchase of recycled plastic. Additionally, across parts of Indonesia, we have expanded our network of waste banks to around 4,000. Waste banks reward people for collecting, sorting and returning their used packaging and some are also trialling community refill stations which will help us to further reduce the amount of plastic in circulation. We are rolling out technology solutions in Indonesia to help people in urban areas find their nearest waste banks via Google Maps. Currently, around 800 waste banks are searchable – our aim is to increase this to 2,000.

To achieve our collection and processing target, we are forging partnerships and industry collaborations, such as with the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund – the world’s first investment fund dedicated to preventing ocean plastic. We are also working with the United Nations Development Programme in India to protect the livelihoods of informal waste sector workers who help segregate, collect and recycle packaging. This partnership has reached more than 33,000 households and collected 2,500 tonnes of plastic waste so far – and will scale up to include more households in the coming years.

Read more about collection and processing

Tackling food waste helps to mitigate climate change, address food insecurity, protect natural resources and deliver economic benefits through cost savings. Our food waste is generated in two main areas: at our factories during the manufacturing process, and as obsoletes such as damaged or expired stock in factories and warehouses. In 2022, we reduced food waste per tonne of food handled in our own operations by 17%, versus a 2019 baseline.

Our company-wide Food Waste Warrior Programme has helped us to accelerate progress by encouraging our employees to identify opportunities to ensure that no good food goes to waste. The programme focuses on the areas in our operations where food waste is generated, such as helping us to avoid producing excess stock by ensuring our forecasts are accurate for new innovations. We also have partnerships in a number of our key markets to sell or donate excess stock that cannot be sold, before it becomes obsolete.

In 2022, we reduced the amount of food waste generated during our manufacturing process. We are implementing innovative solutions to improve operational efficiency within our supply chain and further reduce manufacturing food waste – such as through the use a digital platform to better understand and visualise where food waste is being generated.

Read more about food waste

We achieved zero non-hazardous waste to landfill in 2015 and have maintained it every year since then, including in 2022.

Our factories are committed to continuous improvement in waste management, moving waste up the waste hierarchy and by applying a ‘zero waste mindset’ to turn waste materials into a resource. Where we have been unable to find ways to refuse (avoid waste being generated in the first place) or reduce waste, we look for routes to reuse or recycle. And if these solutions aren’t available, we recover energy from the waste.

Read more about manufacturing waste