Mondelez International has published its Call For Well-being 2014 Progress Report, which details how the company has exceeded many of its key environmental goals—among them the elimination of 50 million lb of packaging by 2015—and has taken significant steps forward to meet its remaining global well-being targets by 2020.
“We firmly believe that we can grow our business, while improving the well-being of the planet.Through our Call For Well-being, we bring a business mindset and the power of our global resources together to drive change,” says Irene Rosenfeld, Mondelez Chairman and CEO. “We’ve made important progress against key metrics to reduce our environmental footprint, evolve the nutrition profile of our portfolio, and secure sustainable agriculture supplies.Working together with employees, partners, and suppliers, we can deliver enduring solutions for our business and society.”
Launched in 2013, the company’s Call For Well-being is focused on four areas that are critical to the well-being of the world and where Mondelez International can make the greatest impact: sustainability, mindful snacking, safety, and community. In the area of sustainability, one of Mondelez’ goals was the reduction of 50 million lb of packaging by the end of 2015. According to the report, the company has nearly doubled that original target, eliminating 89 million lb by 2014.
Reads the report: “We continue to look for new ways to use less packaging without taking anything away from people’s enjoyment of our brands and—crucially—without contributing to increased food waste. This means using fewer materials and increasing the amount of recycled packaging content in our packages. Our efforts have yielded results. Over the last four years, we have eliminated 80 million pounds (approximately 40,500 metric tonnes) of packaging from our supply chain, which is nearly double our goal of eliminating 50 million pounds (22,500 metric tonnes) of material by the end of 2015.”
The report explains that Modelez has been using a proprietary Eco-Calculator™ to determine the percentage of post-consumer recycled materials used in its packaging as well as track the amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the manufacture and disposal of its packaging.
“We also ‘upcycle’ waste such as flexible films, which are difficult to recycle through normal channels, and convert them into merchandise through our work with TerraCycle®,” reads the report.
Among the examples cited of product packaging that has been redesigned to use fewer materials are the following:
- Picnic bars, sold in Russia, no longer use a shipping box, reducing packaging by 3.5 million lb/yr.
- In Latin America, the pouch and display height of Tang was reduced, resulting in more pouches per display unit, optimized paperboard and cardboard consumption, and reductions of nearly 1 million lb of material.
- By replacing the Oreo cookie tray with a film wrap, Mondelez reduced packaging by 650,000 lb/yr in China.
