Packaging

Our footprint

The packaging materials we currently use include paper and board, plastic, glass, aluminium, steel and mixed material laminates (for sachets and pouches).

Our approach

Our approach to responsible packaging takes into account environmental, social and economic considerations, as well as the diverse waste collection and management infrastructures found around the world.

We don’t look at packaging in isolation but consider waste issues in terms of the product as a whole, assessing waste generated using our new vitality metric. To minimise impacts, we use leading-edge design techniques and materials.

Our five guiding principles

• Remove: eliminate unnecessary layers of packaging.

• Reduce: reduce material used.

• Reuse: reuse packaging from the materials we receive at our factories.

• Renew: maximise recycled and renewable packaging and investigate biodegradable and compostable materials

• Recycle: increase the use of recyclable components in packaging.

Enhancing design

As well as minimising the environmental impact of packaging, innovative design can provide other benefits, such as cutting waste from leakage.

In 2008, we developed sustainable packaging guidelines and introduced training for our packaging teams to further embed sustainability thinking into design.

Addressing key issues

We have identified three priority issues: sustainable sourcing of paper, tackling the litter that results from sachets, and minimising PVC.

Sustainable paper sourcing

While most of the paper we purchase for our European business comes either from recycled material or sustainably managed forests, the situation in other regions can be very different. We are working with the Rainforest Alliance to develop a sustainable sourcing policy for paper.

Litter in the developing world

The sachets we use to package single-use products, especially in developing and emerging markets, may end up as litter where there are no appropriate disposal facilities.

Our response is to:

• design sachets that use less material or material with less environmental impact

• support litter awareness programmes

• work with others to boost the collection and reuse of our packaging. 

If we can help create a value for this waste product, there is an incentive for people to collect it, providing potential social and economic benefits.

Minimising PVC

Given the concern around the disposal of PVC, we are working to minimise its use in our packaging – and committed to replacing it completely by the end of 2010, where there are viable alternatives.

Reducing waste in manufacturing

We have been measuring waste from manufacturing processes for many years. Total waste sent for disposal has been reduced by 68% per tonne of production since 1995. 

Working with others

Unilever is a founding member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which has over 160 members, including packaging producers, users and retailers. We are also members of EUROPEN (the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment).

We work in partnership with retailers and NGOs to improve recycling infrastructure – as in our CEMPRE waste management and recycling initiative in Brazil.