Mondelēz International joins leading plastic initiatives

Mondelēz International has joined leading companies by signing two initiatives focused on tackling plastic waste and pollution, as it accelerates its transition to a circular economy for plastic. 

The owner of Cadbury and Oreo is now a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, as well a member of the UK Plastics Pact.

The announcement marks a step forward towards the company’s 2025 sustainability goals which are focused on making snacks with less energy, water and waste. At present, 93% of Mondelēz’ total packaging, including both plastic and non-plastic, is designed to be recycled.

By partnering with the New Plastics Economy Initiative, Mondelēz joins businesses including Nestle; The Coca-Cola Company; PepsiCo; Pernod Ricard; Unilever; Danone and Mars, which all signed the pledge back in 2018, along with the government and other organisations.

“We are pleased Mondelēz International is joining us as a New Plastics Economy Participant and Global Commitment signatory, by setting concrete 2025 targets,” said Sander Defruyt, lead of the New Plastics Economy Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Defruyt added: “Our vision is for a world where plastic never becomes waste or pollution. It will be a challenging journey, but by coming together we can eliminate the plastics we don’t need and innovate, so the plastics we do need can be safely and easily circulated – keeping them in the economy and out of the environment.”

Through joining the UK Plastics Pact, Mondelēz joins businesses and organisations such as Unilever, Arla and PepsiCo which signed up to the “world-first” initiative back in 2018.

At the end of last year, charity WRAP – which launched the programme- published its first annual report for The UK Plastics Pact revealing that the UK is over half-way towards recycling 70% of plastic packaging.

As a new member of both programmes, Mondelēz commits to working towards delivering 2025 targets such as eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging, ensuring 100% of plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable and ensuring 5% recycled content (by weight) is used across all plastic packaging.

“We believe that sector-wide initiatives, in collaboration with government, are key to reducing the impact of packaging on our planet” said Christine Montenegro McGrath, VP of sustainability and global impact at Mondelēz International.

“Through our partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and in joining The UK Plastics Pact, we are accelerating our work toward creating zero net waste packaging and improving recycling globally, and we are fully committed to their vision.”