Danone has switched to Ingeo™ PLA from NatureWorks for its Activia brand yogurt in Germany. The new yogurt pack is the result of a close cooperation between Danone, WWF-Germany, and NatureWorks. The switch to the material will improve the product’s packaging carbon footprint by 25% and will use 43% less fossil resources compared to the previous packaging, according to a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study conducted by the Heidelberg-based LCA Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU). Danone is the first company to switch to PLA packaging for a leading yogurt product in Europe. In October, Stonyfield Farm became the first in the U.S. to introduce a form/fill/seal cup made from PLA for yogurt.
“Going forward, it is increasingly important for companies and brands to realize that the path ahead is one of technological investment, sustainable development, and high quality in all aspects of product production—packaging included,” says Andreas Ostermayr, CEO Danone Germany and Switzerland. “With our partners, we have taken a first significant step in the packaging development of the future.”
In terms of the aggregate annual environmental benefit associated with the Activia pack switch, NatureWorks estimates fossil energy savings equivalent to the electricity consumed per month by 13,000 German homes, along with greenhouse gas savings equivalent to not driving a vehicle 19 million km.
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