Marmite and PG Tips maker Unilever plans to halve new plastic use by 2025

‘Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment’

The Marmite maker will reuse or recycle about 600,000 tonnes of plastic annually (Getty)

Unilever, the consumer goods company that owns Marmite, PG Tips and Lipton, has announced plans to halve its use of new plastic over the next five years.

The company’s claim has been made as part of several new commitments to drastically improve its sustainability by 2025.

These commitments include cutting its use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes, halving its use of “virgin” plastic and increasing its use of plastic that is recyclable.

Unilever’s new environmentally-friendly goals add to its existing commitment to making sure that all of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

It is the first major global consumer goods company to commit to reducing its use of plastic across its portfolio.

Alan Jope, CEO of the firm, said it is important that society takes “radical action” with regards to combatting plastic waste.

“Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment,” Jope said.

“We can only eliminate plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical action at all points in the plastic cycle.”

Jope continued, explaining that Unilever’s “starting point” when reducing plastic use, while also increasing its use of recyclable plastics, is in the design process.

“This demands a fundamental rethink in our approach to our packaging and products,” the chief executive said.

“It requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like re-use and re-fill formats, at an unprecedented speed and intensity.”

Unilever’s environmentally-conscious commitment will require the firm to collect and process approximately 600,000 tonnes of plastic on an annual basis by 2025.

“Our vision is a world which everyone works together to ensure that plastic stays in the economy and out of the environment,” Jope said.

“Our plastic is our responsibility and so we are committed to collecting back more than we sell, as part of our drive towards a circular economy.”

Jope added that Unilever’s sustainability commitments are a “daunting but exciting task which will help drive global demand for recycled plastic”.

Ellen MacArthur, founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said that Unilever’s announcement is a “significant step in creating a circular economy for plastic”.

“By eliminating unnecessary packaging through innovations such as refill, reuse, and concentrates, while increasing their use of recycled plastic, Unilever is demonstrating how businesses can move away from virgin plastics,” she said.

“We urge others to follow their lead, so collectively we can eliminate the plastic we don’t need, innovate, so what we do need is circulated, and ultimately build an economic system where plastic packaging never becomes waste.”