The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is partnering with PepsiCo, Unilever and Danone to develop a vision for scalable returnable packaging systems.
The work is being carried out by the Foundation’s Plastics Initiative, which it says uses future visualisation and analytical modelling to show how scaled reuse systems can perform economically, environmentally, and experientially in comparison to single-use.
To ultimately decouple plastic use from business growth, the foundation says there is a need for scalable solutions that don’t require single-use packaging to deliver products to users.
To unlock economies of scale that can compete with single use, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation says it sees an urgent need for a common vision for returnable packaging, an aligned understanding, better data, and a common voice to policymakers.
The conclusions of the work will be finalised over the coming months, and it says the full modelling results will be published with a thorough technical appendix later this year.
Nicolas Gregoire, VP, Packaging Cycle, Danone said, “This study, launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, paves the way for profitable scale-up, stressing the need for an industry-wide approach to address the challenge. We are happy to participate and share our learnings across categories and geographies.”
“Turning the ‘reuse revolution’ ambition into a reality requires cross-industry collaboration. We’re pleased to be working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and other industry partners to explore the economic, environmental, and experiential impacts of reuse models versus single-use,” commented Jolanda de Rooij, senior sustainability manager Circular Economy, Unilever.
“The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Initiative and its work to study how to efficiently scale reuse will be a meaningful tool for PepsiCo and other companies committed to expanding reuse options in our portfolios. The systemic change needed to reduce packaging waste requires innovation, collaboration, and commitment across the entire value chain, and so it has been important for PepsiCo to be part of these efforts. Better understanding of the size, scale, and impact of different scenarios of reuse across products, companies, and industries can help play a critical role in addressing this global challenge,” said Anke Boykin, senior director, Global Environmental Policy, PepsiCo.
