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Nestlé owns more than 2
The commitments, which will see Nestlé launch its first plastic-free packaging lines by the end of 2019, build on its UK Plastics Pact pledge to ensure 100% of its plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
Published on Tuesday (15 January), they divide the company’s plastics action plan into three main sections – pioneering alternative materials, creating a waste-free future and driving behaviour change.
Actions to champion alternative materials include launching paper-based pouches and boxes for Nesquik and Smarties by the end of 2019, with similar packaging to be developed for Milo in 2020. Plastic straws will also be removed from all Nestlé products, with the phase-out set to begin in February.
Nestlé has additionally unveiled plans to develop water bottles which are both biodegradable and recyclable but has not yet set a deadline for bringing this innovation to market.
The headline ambition of the ‘creating a waste-free future’ pillar, meanwhile, is achieving ‘plastic-neutrality’, meaning that Nestle will finance the collection of the same amount of plastic pollution as its plastic output. The collected waste will then be sent for recycling.
Lastly, the behaviour change portion of the new strategy focuses on reducing the plastic footprint of Nestlé’s 323,000 employees. It includes a pledge to remove non-recyclable, single-use items from the company’s 4,200 facilities – a move which will be accompanied by a communications campaign aimed at boosting reuse and recycling rates for other items.
“While we are committed to pursuing recycling options where feasible, we know that 100% recyclability is not enough to successfully tackle the plastics waste crisis – we need to push the boundaries and do more,” Nestlé’s chief executive Mark Schneider said.
“We are determined to look at every option to solve this complex challenge and embrace multiple solutions that can have an impact now.”
Turning the tide on plastics
The publication of Nestlé’s new commitments comes shortly after the Swiss multinational announced that it had joined Project STOP, a business-led initiative aiming to prevent plastic pollution from leaking into waterways and oceans across South-East Asia. This move forms part of the company’s ambition to create a waste-free future.
Founded by innovative materials firm Borealis and blockchain developer SYSTEMIQ in 2017, Project STOP was created in a bid to tackle the 12 million tonnes of plastic estimated to be seeping into the marine environment every year.
Of this waste, around half is estimated to originate from five Asian nations – China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. The project, which has garnered support from the likes of waste management firm Veolia and the Norwegian Government, is, therefore, driving actions to improve waste management infrastructure, plastics policies and business ambition in these markets.
As part of the initiative, Nestle has pledged to apply key learnings from its work in South-East Asia to its other markets before the end of 2019, as part of its bid to become ‘plastic-neutral’.
“It’s extremely concerning that the lack of sustainable waste management systems and practices have contributed to the escalation of the problem of marine litter,” Borealis’s chief executive Alfred Stern said.
“We are excited to welcome Nestle as a new strategic partner of Project STOP and look forward to new partners and alliances on our journey to scale up this initiative.”
edie’s Mission Possible Plastics Hub
This week, edie launched the Mission Possible Plastics Hub – a brand-new content-driven campaign that will support sustainability and resource efficiency professionals on our collective mission to eliminate single-use plastics.
In addition to hosting content that supports businesses with their single-use plastics phase-outs, the Mission Possible Plastics Hub will be encouraging sustainability professionals to submit new commitments to tackle plastic pollution on the Mission Possible Pledge Wall.
If your company has an existing plastics commitment, or if you’re planning a new commitment over the coming months, you can showcase it on the Mission Possible Pledge Wall.
— VIEW THE LATEST PLASTIC PLEDGES HERE —
(By submitting a pledge, edie readers are agreeing to the commitment, target date and expected benefits being published on the Mission Possible Pledge Wall, along with their name and job title. They are also agreeing to being contacted by a member of the edie editorial team, should any further information about their pledge be required.)
Taking place on Thursday: edie’s single-use plastics business transformation webinar
Sustainability professionals seeking more insight on how best to reducing or eliminate single-use plastics can tune in to edie’s free webinar, entitled ‘Single-use plastics: How to lead a business transformation’, on Thursday (17 January) at 2pm.
Featuring expert speakers from A Plastic Planet, Sky and Cranswick, the hour-long session will combine best-practice case studies with expert insights to give you a clear way forward in your organisation’s approach to plastics.
— REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE —
Sarah George
Innovative Solution Systems (ISS) is the sole agency responsible for the promotion and distribution of waste-to-energy equipment (manufactured by Biomass Energy Systems Inc. (BESI) in the West African Sub-Region. The objective of ISS is to promote the use of waste to energy technology in Ghana and the entire West African Sub-Region to ensure energy sustainability and clean environmental. We are sincerely looking forward to assisting Ghanaian and Africans making sustainable environmental and economic changes to the current infrastructure. We have made great strides in providing similar support, providing solutions to waste and energy issues for our clients in Costa Rica and India. We know that our capabilities and responsible and practical approach will be ideal for what you are striving to achieve in Africa.
BESI is a Woman Owned Business Enterprise, located outside of Chicago, Illinois. We are providing solutions to issues regarding waste management and alternative energy to a wide variety of stakeholders, as well as developing the supporting training and university curriculum. We have provided extensive support for the United States military, working towards zero- landfill bases, providing waste assessment, custom designed turnkey systems, and delivering significant performance data. We currently have two facilities owned by the USAir Force that are managed by BESI which support the US military research into materials conversion and baseload renewable energy at utility and battlefield scale. We have additional facilities operating and in construction at our India offices, which have tremendous environmental significance for their entire industrial base, cleanly converting wastes and producing steam for use onsite, reducing operating costs for local industries. This is an economically sustainable strategy for the entire region. BESI would endeavor to provide a similar strategic and beneficial approach to the areas of Ghana in which we work
The patented gasification process used by BESI is the TURNW2E Advanced Gasification system. Gasification is the process by which a material undergoes exothermic and endothermic reactions within a vessel and harvests the gaseous material it emits- generally undertaken to provide energy. BESI s process is customized to client requirements and delivered as a turnkey solution for our clients. A turnkey system consists of the four-step process of preprocessing/shredding, gasification, gas cleanup, and gas utilization, with each unit integrated and optimized for maximum output. Using the BESI design and deliver approach, Africa factories and industrial concerns will be able to gasify much of their waste to produce the best value alternative energy output, which can include water desalination, air conditioning, cold storage, hot water, heat, steam, or electricity.
A key differentiating feature of BESI s process is its flexibility. The system can be scaled from 5 TPD to 100 TPD, and can be designed to reliably operate at lower volumes, as needed, by the location requirements. Materials of different densities are readily accommodated, as the system can change and control reactions called shift-on-the-fly to maximize conversion efficiency.
As a general rule of thumb, our systems can convert 100 TPD of 7000 btu/lb waste and convert it into 3 MW/h of energy. Modules of 100 TPD can be supplied to accommodate volumes over 500 TPD. Typical simple payback can range from one to seven years, depending upon the client requirements and economic strategy employed.
The system does not emit any harmful emissions or particulates. Everything in our turnkey systems is engineered with environmental well-being in mind, as well as providing an economically sustainable solution to waste management and energy generation.
BESI has successfully supported clients working on projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Currently, a project in Costa Rica is moving ahead, with the USAID providing pre-development funding to BESI s client. This project will have BESI deliver a complete design, turnkey system and installations and operations support for 100 TPD of wastes and an additional 40 TPD of tires. BESI will support your group as needed for similar efforts, with the expectation of tremendous success in Africa.
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