Environment - Articles and news items

Scoring goals for sustainable development

Issue 3 2010, Past issues / 30 June 2010 / Andy Wales, Global Head of Sustainable Development, SABMiller

As one of the world’s largest brewers, with brewing interests and distribution agreements across six continents, SABMiller takes its responsibilities seriously, especially when it comes to sustainable development. In 2009, the company announced its intentions to reduce its fossil fuel emissions on its beers by fifty per cent per litre of beer that they produce. They are also working with WWF on water footprinting to better understand how to manage the resource which is so vital to the business. Not to mention that they’re a sponsor of Bafana Bafana (that’s the South African national football team, to those not in the know) and will also be providing beer at FIFA Fan Fests during the World Cup itself, held this summer in South Africa. Their portfolio includes premium international beers such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch. (more…)

Packaging for customers, consumers and the environment

Issue 3 2010, Past issues / 30 June 2010 / Jay Gouliard, Vice President Global Packaging, Unilever

Unilever is one of the leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods, with products on sale in over 170 countries. Our portfolio of foods, home and personal care brands is trusted by consumers the world over. On any given day, two billion people use our products. Unilever business and brands have impact at every stage of their lifecycle; in sourcing raw materials, packaging, manufacture, distribution, consumer use and disposal. Towards the end of 2009, we launched a new vision to double the size of our business while reducing its overall environmental impact across the entire value chain. (more…)

Sustainability and PepsiCo UK: meeting the challenge together

Issue 4 2009 / 12 December 2009 / Emma Clarke, Sustainability Manager, PepsiCo UK

PepsiCo UK & Ireland (PIUK) employs over 5,500 people across 13 locations, including the largest crisp manufacturing plant in the world located in Leicester, the Quaker Oats factory at Cupar in Scotland, Copella apple juice bottled at Boxford in Suffolk and a number of other manufacturing, distribution and administration sites. Our core brands are Walkers, Quaker, Tropicana and Pepsi – but our business also includes a wide range of other products, including Planet Lunch, Snack a Jacks and SunBites.

In this article, I am going to talk about the environmental challenges facing PepsiCo and how we are changing the way we work to grow sustainably whilst reducing our impact on the planet, within and outside our four walls. I will share our total supply chain approach to tackling these challenges, which focuses on three key areas: addressing climate change, resource depletion and water shortages – issues where we believe we have the greatest ability to act and influence. Finally, I will demonstrate a supply chain approach in action, with the example of Walkers Crisps. (more…)

Edible/biodegradable packaging for food

Issue 4 2009 / 12 December 2009 / Dr Lizhe Wang, Biomaterial Scientist and Dr Joe P. Kerry, Head of the Food Packaging Group, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork

As traditional food packaging materials show shortcomings in terms of their environmental pollution impact and in their manufacturing requirements for non-renewable resources, the need for alternative packaging materials and packaging formats is now required more than ever. A major group of alternative and novel materials which possess future commercial potential are those derived from utilised and underutilised food ingredients, or food grade ingredients. Consequently, they provide packaging materials which are not just biodegradable in nature, but which are edible also, thereby presenting greater opportunities for commercial application in a more sustainable manner. Therefore, the potential advantages that such packaging materials have over more current conventional packaging forms used by the food industry are obvious.

To date, the majority of food packaging materials and formats consist primarily of laminates which can be comprised of plastics, metals and/or paper and glass. These materials are, and have traditionally been, manufactured and engineered for specific food packaging applications. However, consumer demands are changing with respect to food product purchasing and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the presence, role and implications of the food packaging that surrounds their retail food purchases. Issues pertaining to sustainability, environment, ethics, food safety, food quality and product cost are all becoming increasingly important factors for modern-day consumers when purchasing food products and a number of these issues are also enforced by food packaging legislative regulations. Changes in consumer packaging demands are being informed by continual drip feeding of negative information pertaining to conventionally-used packaging. For example, reports1 claim that plastics formed 38 per cent of all food packaging materials used in the US last year and that most of this would end up in landfill or cause an environmental risk when processed in incinerators. The author also went on to say that only small amounts of the 38 per cent of plastic waste would go on to be recycled. (more…)