Providing access to safe nutrition in a rapidly growing global population is a challenge for today’s food systems.1 We need to decrease our environmental impact while increasing our food production, so that less is wasted and vulnerable people no longer go hungry.
Our packaging plays a role in building the resilience of food systems that supply food to people who need it, while reducing dependence on natural resources. We define ‘sustainable food packaging’ as packaging that achieves its functional requirements with minimal environmental impact; is made from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials; is designed for recycling; and has a low carbon footprint taking into account manufacturing, production, shipping and recycling.
Product and process innovation
Our commitment to sustainable food production involves using advanced technologies and practices that minimise environmental impact while maximising efficiency. Innovation is a key driver of improvement, and we have a network of centres around the world where we work tirelessly to test new ideas and processes and to scale successes.
In our Product Development Centres (PDCs), Technology Development Centres (TDCs) and Customer Innovation Centres (CICs), we help customers create new products in confidential trials and evaluate the equipment needed to produce new recipes commercially. These centres are collaborative spaces, designed to generate and refine ideas, with experts at hand to provide deep insight into both market dynamics and technical processes.
School feeding programmes
Our focus on scaling access includes our school feeding programmes. Through these initiatives, we collaborate with customers, governments, stakeholders and NGOs to safely distribute milk and other beverages in our packaging to children around the world, even in remote communities where there is reduced access to refrigeration.
1 The term ‘food systems’ refers to all the elements and activities related to producing and consuming food, and their effects, including economic, health, and environmental outcomes, 2023. Source: OECD, https://www.oecd.org/food-systems.