We aim to make our packaging circular
At Danone UK & Ireland, our aim is to offer our nutritious, high-quality food and drinks in packaging that is circular, keeping materials in use and out of nature.
Packaging is fundamental to providing our customers with convenient and safe food and drink, minimising food waste and preserving quality. And we recognise our responsibility to use packaging that is as environmentally friendly as possible.
As a company committed to protecting and nourishing the health of the planet and people, we want to play our part in transitioning from a linear to circular economy of packaging.
The current packaging model – based on a linear system – can create major environmental challenges. We are committed to transitioning to a circular, low-carbon economy of packaging, in which plastic never becomes waste or pollution, and the value of products and materials is retained in the economy. At Danone, we want to be part of this transformation. We are committed to driving a circular, low-carbon economy of packaging and recover as much as we use.
To achieve this, we are working to eliminate the packaging we don’t need; innovating so all the packaging we do need is designed to be safely reused, recycled or composted; and working to ensure the packaging material we use stays in the economy and does not become waste or pollution.
For example, in 2023 we removed the label from our iconic Actimel bottle in order to reduce plastic use and improve its recyclability. The new flexible bottle has the brand name, vitamins and allergens embossed directly onto the bottle, without the need for an additional label. This will save approximately 135 tonnes of plastic per year.*
*Saving based on 2024 forecast sales volumes.
PACKAGING DESIGNED FOR CIRCULARITY
In the UK & Ireland, our goal for 2025 is for every piece of packaging—from bottles to yogurt pots—to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Danone in the UK was a founding signatory of the UK Plastics Pact Initiative. This means we have committed to 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025. As we work towards this target, new innovative packaging solutions are being developed and implemented across our range of Waters, Essential Dairy and Plant-based products and Specialised Nutrition brands.
RECYCLED, REUSED, OR COMPOSTED IN PRACTICE
Redesigning packaging for circularity won’t do much good if the waste management systems aren’t in place to ensure it is recycled, reused or composted. That’s why we are committed to help co-build effective and inclusive systems for collection, reuse and recycling.
We need to work collaboratively with industry and government. So, we are actively engaged in encouraging legislative changes to improve the recycling infrastructure across the UK and Ireland.
In the UK, we are members of OPRL (the On Pack Recycling label) scheme, rolling out clear recycling labels across all our products to help consumers correctly dispose of their packaging for recycling.
We are working hard to move towards a circular economy for plastics, where it never becomes waste or pollution, but is used again and again. We also work with the leading environmental organisation, Hubbub on various initiatives to engage people with recycling in innovative ways, inspiring greater awareness and action.
Alongside Hubbub, we launched a new boat made from 99% recycled plastic, which will be permanently based in Bristol Harbour to provide a fun and hands-on way for people to engage with sustainability. Learn more here.
We also participated in the Digital Deposit Return Scheme pilot in Brecon, Wales. As the first town in the world to test this type of scheme, the trial saw around 1200 household take part, recycling cans or bottles in exchange for money. The trial was an important step in understanding recycling patterns and the types of incentives that may work to drive recycling behaviour in communities.
PRESERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
In the UK & Ireland, our goal for 2025 is to increase the amount of recycled plastic used in our packaging. By 2025 in the UK, we will reach 30% recycled material on average in our plastic packaging.
For example, in 2019 evian introduced the UK's first 100% recycled plastic bottles at The Championships, Wimbledon, replacing our iconic logo with ‘I Recycle’. In 2020, evian then launched 100% recycled plastic* 'bottles made from bottles' across its top selling evian products to promote the circular economy. By 2025 all our evian and Volvic bottles will be made using 100% recycled plastic*.
*Bottles made from 100% recycled PET, excluding caps and labels