While the world continues to ban the production of single-use plastics, many large companies fail to recognize other leading producers of plastic pollution. Unfortunately, most brand-name companies continue to package merchandise in newly-created plastics. Over time, the plastics accumulate. With only 9% of all circulating plastics being recycled, the remaining billions of tons of plastics to be left in fragile ecosystems or improperly disposed of in landfills. And, with companies still to use these new plastics for packaging purposes, the problem only continues to exist. However, one company recently took a stand. Unilever, the maker of Ben and Jerry’s, Dove, Lipton and more, announced its commitment to going green.

By 2025, Unilever has promised to try and accomplish the following:

Halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses in packaging Help collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells

What is the company doing?

As a parent company to over 400 brands, Unilever currently uses over 700,000 tons of plastic annually. In order to away from single-use plastic, the company’s new tactics incorporate a “less plastic, better plastic, and no plastic” way of thinking. During its journey to cut their plastic usage in half, the consumer goods giant will begin to offer a wider variety of reusable, refillable, and recyclable packaging. As a result, their strategy brings to the table several innovative alternatives to common virgin plastic packaging. Some of which are already implemented in Unilever’s green production line.

Highlighted Successes

In 2017 Unilever incorporated MuCell™ technology its Dove hand wash bottles to avoid using an excess of 304 tons of plastic.

In 2018 Unilever put up a three-liter bottle of Omo laundry detergent on the market in Brazil. The detergent’s formula was dilutable in order to reduce the volume of plastic by 75%. Unilever opened up a facility that uses breakthrough chemical processes (CreasSolve®) in order to recycle sachets into safe, reusable, and high-quality polymers. The company began its research in this field in 2011.

In January 2019 Unilever announced its participation in Loop™, an innovative waste-free shopping and delivery model for reusable packaging innovations and refillable product formats

In September 2019 Sainsbury started an initiative to use returnable glass bottles to sell milk and carbonated beverages.



A Realistic Model for Plastic Use

While plastic is heavily incorporated into modern-day lifestyles, the truth is that a “no plastic” world is difficult to achieve. However, Unilever is taking on a realistic vision for the future.

In a statement with Unilever’s chief executive, Alan Jope, he notes that “Plastic has its place but that place is not in the environment”. Touching base on the company’s future progress in sustainability, Jope states that “[Unilever’s] starting point has to be design, reducing the amount of plastic we use, and then making sure that what we do use increasingly comes from recycled sources”. Refreshingly, Unilever’s actions continue to match their words.

Adopting Circular Thinking

During its process of going green, Unilever altered its production strategy to incorporate circular thinking. As a result, the company continuously takes strides in creating a circular economy for plastic recycling. By utilizing such an economical system, the company will be able to mitigate waste and pollution production. Instead, it will strive to keep products and materials in use, as well as regenerating natural systems.

However, Unilever must focus on several different interdependent areas in order to do so. Working at such a diverse level, the company incorporates initiatives ranging from politics to infrastructure design. On the political side, Unilever is working with governments in order to create an environment that can enable the creation and use of a circular economy. At the same time, the company is exploring new business models to capitalize on economical trends.

Conclusion

As one of the leading causes of plastic pollution, packaging continues to accumulate in landfills at an alarming rate. Fortunately, Unilever’s commitment to going green is yielding inspiring results such as preventing the use of billions of tons of unneeded plastics.

However, the company knows it cannot finish the battle against plastic pollution alone. Instead, it believes that other companies should take initiative in order to create the systemic change needed to catalyze a circular economy. Whether advocating for more companies to engage in policy discussions with governments or to invest in innovation, Unilever continuously shows unwavering dedication.

Hopefully, others will look up to Unilever and follow their lead.