In 2019, Ferrero announced plans to make all its packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

To support this objective, the company has joined forces with Loop and Carrefour for a reuse pilot scheme for its Nutella brand in Paris, France.

Ferrero has developed a new pilot Nutella jar in collaboration with reuse platform Loop, which is specially designed with features such as an optimised label and seal that can be easily removed during the wash cycle.

Under the scheme, shoppers will be able to purchase a Nutella jar from the ten pilot stores and the Carrefour website for which they pay a deposit. Carrefour will then collect the empty jars for washing and reuse.

Since signing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in 2019, Ferrero has become a participant organisation in the New Plastics Economy initiative.

The scheme aims to promote progress towards a circular economy for plastics, and Ferrero says that it is “looking forward to working with the other participants to drive action and promote innovation”.

In addition, Ferrero has created new recyclable packaging for Kinder Happy Hippo and joined the 4evergreen alliance, which brings together companies across the fibre-based packaging value chain who are committed to increasing circularity and sustainability.

Fabio Mora, global packaging director of the Ferrero Group, said: “The new recyclable packaging for Kinder Happy Hippo and the alliance with 4evergreen are further important steps forward that underline our commitment to working in collaboration with others, and we look forward to sharing further updates on our progress soon.”

Part of the Finnish-based Wihuri group and located in the district of Montgomeryshire, the flexible packaging converter has invested more than £5 million ($6.7m) in equipment to enhance its capabilities and “boost sustainable product offerings”.

“This significant investment will enable us to produce flexible packaging solutions with a considerably lower carbon footprint, which will not only contribute to the wider company’s target of becoming net zero by 2025, but aligns with many of our customers’ sustainability ambitions too,” explained managing director Andrew Newbold.

“The UK Government and our Prime Minister could not have been clearer about our direction of travel towards net zero by 2050, but also picking up the pace,” explained MP Craig Williams. “We can’t do that on our own – Government can set frameworks, but we need private sector partners like Wipak UK to come in and help us, and the investment here, the commitment to net zero, the doing it in a tremendously impressive timeframe, is exactly the kind of private sector investment we need in the UK.”

Wipak UK’s conversion equipment is set to be in operation by summer 2021.

The transition towards recycled-based multi-layer films enables the packaging industry to adopt a more sustainable solution without compromising on functional performance. The development of this packaging material underlines a strong commitment to enabling a circular economy by working together with partners throughout the value chain, and addresses the increasing consumer, societal and regulatory demand for more sustainable multi-layer barrier casing solutions.

Produced by Viscofan, the newly developed sustainable casing consists of several layers of different polymers. DSM Engineering Materials supplies the high-performance certified circular polyamide (PA) Akulon® CRC-MB, and SABIC supplies the high-performance certified circular polyethylene (PE)* from its TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio of circular solutions.  Both products are based on used and post-consumer plastics which would otherwise be discarded as landfill or lost to incineration. Using advanced recycling, the used plastic is converted into new feedstock, which then enters the production chain to deliver new virgin-quality materials.

Jason Zhang, VP Business Lines Performance Polymers at DSM Engineering Materials: “By introducing Akulon® CRC-MB, DSM is taking an exciting next step in its sustainability journey. The co-development of a recycled-based film for packaging applications underlines DSM’s commitment to working closely with partners, customers and suppliers to realize a more sustainable value chain and economy.”

Mark Vester, Global Circular Economy Leader at SABIC: “We’re committed to finding innovative solutions that help to capture value from used plastic which would otherwise have been discarded. This includes collaborating with players across the entire value chain to provide access to more sustainable materials, made using our TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio of circular solutions, and to work towards a circular economy for plastics. We are delighted to work with partners including Cepsa, Fibrant, DSM and Viscofan to help make this vision a reality.”

The high-performance certified circular polyamide Akulon® CRC-MB is produced through a strong value chain collaboration involving a range of partners applying a mass-balancing approach**. Firstly, SABIC produces certified circular benzene, based on materials produced via feedstock recycling of mixed-used plastics, which is used by Cepsa to make certified circular phenol. Fibrant then uses the phenol to produce certified circular caprolactam EcoLactam®, which is provided to DSM to produce its certified circular polyamide. Finally, Viscofan combines the certified circular polyethylene and polyamide to produce the multi-barrier film used to create casings for a variety of meat products.

Paul Habets, Director Marketing & Sales at Fibrant: “We’re proud that our EcoLactam® Circular is used in Viscofan’s newly developed product. This is an important milestone for us and our value chain partners supporting the development of sustainable and circular products. EcoLactam® means high-quality caprolactam with a lower environmental footprint. Together, we’re making important steps toward  a carbon-neutral society.”

All of the advanced recycled materials within the value chain will have the globally recognized ISCC Plus certification and will not require re-qualification.

Multi-layer barrier films inherently offer strong sustainability advantages by helping to reduce preventable food waste – which accounts for 8% of total global greenhouse gas emissions – and extending the shelf-life of food products. What’s more, using post-consumer plastics as a feedstock mitigates the depletion of natural resources, reduces the accumulation of plastic waste and improves the environmental footprint.

Óscar Ponz, Chief Plastic Business Officer at Viscofan: “By combining our capacity for innovation and the latest available technology, we have today reached a unique solution in the market using post-consumer recycled plastics. In our sustainable casings program, next to today’s achievement, we’re also in a position to offer bio-based alternatives to our customers. Today’s announcement is a result of the shared commitment to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly for a more sustainable future. This important project is being developed with the collaboration of important Viscofan customers like ElPozo.”

The new packaging will support the sustainability objectives of the Alessandria rice mill which aim to reduce the use of plastic packaging while maintaining all the technical requirements relating to product conservation and durability. Vignola's commitment in this sense also materialized with the purchase of a new filling and sealing machine suitable for paper bags.

On the Italian food market, Mondi, one of the world leaders in the paper and packaging sector, had already collaborated with Fiorini International, specialized instead in the processing of paper for the production of shopping bags, creating a completely recyclable stand-up bag for pasta. .

The new bag is obtained with 110 gsm Advantage Smooth White Strong paper from the Mondi range, with high resistance, printability and runnability.

“Our fifth generation family business has always been the architect of innovation in Italy - explained Giovanni Vignola (in the photo on the right) , CEO of Riseria Vignola.   In 1971 we were among the first to pack rice in cardboard boxes and in the 1980s we were among the pioneers of vacuum packaging. We have now undertaken this new project ahead of the Italian market, which will involve the 500 g and 1 kilo formats, offering consumers a quality product with 100% recyclable packaging.

Vignola quality is recognized and appreciated all over the world. The company produces 50 million kg of rice / year using the most advanced and automated technologies. The plant is also equipped with a photovoltaic system for the production of clean energy to support the production cycle.

During Greennovation exclusive solutions will be presented, in which the "green" technologies of the latest generation will prove the best optimization of productivity in compliance with eco-sustainability issues, with consequent saving in terms of energy resources and packaging material.

On this link you can sign-up to access the event and to interact and discover how sustainability and technology can cooperate for your company.

Greennovation by Robopac and OCME is an important opportunity to discover their main innovations designed primarily for the Food & Beverage sectors. Here is the program.

Cannondale will completely change the way it packages its entire range of bikes. The new packaging will be 100% recyclable and plastic-free, reducing Cannondale’s landfill by 4,500 cubic metres (roughly 1million gallons). The savings here are enormous but even when broken down to an individual purchase the savings are still staggering given that Cannondale previously shipped up to 15 litres of non-recyclable materials per bike.

The new packaging has already been implemented at Cannondale’s European assembly facility in the Nederlands with North American and Asian facilities to follow suit “through the course of 2021”.

Cannondale’s new packaging is more sustainable but the new packaging will also better protect bikes in transit. The bike industry has been adding extra foam, plastic, zip ties etc to packaging as new bikes required extra protection. This complete redesign of packaging will protect the modern bike by suspending it within the packaging so that no part of the bike is in contact with the outer box. The packaging has passed ISTA transit standards for dropping and vibration and should mean a reduction in bikes returned due to damage during transportation. This could further cut down Cannondale’s environmental impact.

Good news for bike shops – Within the new packaging, bikes will be delivered 95% assembled, meaning less assembly time for mechanics. Having spent many days as a mechanic tasked with building shop display bikes, I can attest to how good this news is. That added to the fact there will be no more zip ties, plastic guards, foam etc gathered from each bike delivered and the impact will be tangible for every LBS.

Cost neutrality was a key goal for Cannondale while developing this new packaging. Cannondale has been able to keep costs similar to that of its previous packaging and the new packaging is similar in dimensions to the outgoing version, so no additional transportation charges. This means the new packaging has been implemented with no cost to manufacturer or consumer so will hopefully inspire more brands to follow suit.

Skincare brand, NIVEA, has taken a step towards becoming more sustainable through its packaging by launching its first ever e-commerce ready-to-ship pack – ‘NIVEA CARE BOX’ partnering with Amazon India.

Keeping in mind the growing need for packaging solutions that are effective and eco-friendly, these boxes have been designed by the in-house teams and are 100 per cent recyclable with absolutely no plastic using minimal material for an easy and hassle-free experience. The box embodies the brand’s value of ‘care’ going beyond the skin, expressing the brand’s responsibility to people and the environment at large.

As the demand of online deliveries increase, the challenges of product packaging also rise which lead to common issues of breakage and leakage of vulnerable goods. This ultimately results in damage of products during transit even before it reaches the end consumer.

Moreover, consumers, today, are also becoming more and more conscious about their environmental footprint and are looking for sustainable solutions and eco-friendly ways by which they can contribute to the planet. To address these issues, NIVEA has extended its care beyond skin to the end consumers and the planet to create this parcel of goodness that helps you to unbox not only hassle-free but also guilt-free.

The packaging films produced by PSI will use material provided by Danimer Scientific. The packaging films will reliably degrade without leaving behind any harmful microplastics. This packaging film will be created using customized resins, providing additional end-of-life options to PSI's existing line of compostable films. The films will contain Danimer Scientific's proprietary biopolymer, Nodax PHA. The new PHA-containing films will have home, soil and marine compostable options.

A group of brands including Lush Cosmetics in the U.S, Stitch Fix, The Very Group and Saloni, have joined Pack4Good to tackle the extensive impact paper packaging is having on the world’s forests, biodiversity and climate.

According to Pack4Good three billion trees are currently cut down every year to make paper packaging. “As online sales continue to surge, we must ensure that measures are taken to reduce the reliance of packaging on forests,” the company said in a statement.

Currently 126 global brands including H&M, Bestseller Group, Stella McCartney, Ted Baker, Aritzia, Tensei, and Mara Hoffman are working with environmental non-profit Canopy to develop holistic, innovative packaging solutions through the Pack4Good initiative to reduce waste and keep forests standing. The pre-Black Friday boost to the campaign comes at a pivotal time as experts expect online sales to increase 25 percent to 35 percent over this holiday season.

“There’s no longer any need to use the last of the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests to ship and wrap everyday products,” stated Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director of Canopy. “In this turn around decade for our planet, the companies that are joining Pack4Good are demonstrating the leadership that must be taken to tackle paper packaging, and scale up low-impact alternatives. What better time to strengthen this movement than on the eve of one of the world’s busiest

Last year Black Friday sales saw over 93.2 million people shopping online, which resulted in a whopping 7.4 billion dollars in sales - an all-time record. This year those numbers could be even bigger. The additional packaging needed to meet this demand would intensify impacts on the world’s climate-rich forest ecosystems, as e-commerce shopping requires, on average, seven times more packaging.

The commitment Pack4Good partners are committed to ensuring that by the end of 2022 all their packaging is:

● Free of Ancient and Endangered Forests.

● Designed to reduce material use.

● Maximizing recycled and alternative Next Generation fibres (such as agricultural residues).

● Using FSC-certified wood when virgin forest fibre continues to be used.

Canopy launched the Pack4Good initiative in October 2019, and now includes the commitment of 126 companies, including fashion, beauty and grooming brands.