Big Brands Unite to Tackle Flexible Packaging Pollution with Paper Solutions

Unilever, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Mars have joined forces to form a consortium aimed at developing recyclable and biodegradable paper-based flexible packaging. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new PaperFlex Consortium aims to drive innovation in this area.

The consortium will focus on markets where flexible packaging is widely used but lacks effective collection and recycling systems, resulting in material ending up as litter or pollution. Members will work together to design alternative formats that can be recycled when collection systems improve or biodegrade if they end up as litter unintentionally.

Each participating member plans to pursue their own strategy and make packaging-related decisions independently. However, joint R&D efforts will develop and scale promising innovations at a higher speed and lower cost, bringing new options to consumers sooner.

Nestlé's Global Packaging Development head Gilles Demaurex believes paper-based flexible packaging can play a valuable role in addressing virgin plastic reduction and minimising waste and pollution. Mars' Chief Circularity Officer Allison Lin notes that the consortium demonstrates that partnership can accelerate sustainable packaging development faster than individual companies could alone.