Nestlé regards sustainability at the heart of its goals to protect the environment.
World Sustainability Day was commemorated recently to serve as an annual reminder to address environmental issues and shift our focus towards reducing waste, preserving the planet, and fostering a sustainable future. This requires a commitment from big corporations to take a bold stance when it comes to sustainability.
That is why Nestlé has always put in place practical solutions to reduce waste – from production to packaging. At the heart of this transformation are circular principles, simple yet fundamental means of shifting their approach to recycling. Critically, at Nestlé, circularity comes alive in three sustainability pillars: Rethink, Reduce, and Repurpose. These principles are a practical roadmap for evolving operations towards more sustainable means of production.
The company’s commitment to sustainability is highlighted by its focus on Designed for Recycling (D4R) materials. This strategy ensures that packaging, like the new laminate material used in Nestlé Nespray sachets, can easily enter the recycling process, preventing more waste from ending up in landfills. The shift to D4R materials has already resulted in a 78-tonne reduction in packaging waste per year, demonstrating the significant impact that thoughtful design can have.
Nestlé’s brands are making great strides towards packaging Designed for Recycling. Each of these popular products are known for their distinctive qualities – KitKat’s famous finger chocolate wafer, Bar One’s layered caramel and malted nougat, Tex’s crispy chocolate-covered wafers, Aero’s bubbly texture, the biggest coffee brand in the world NESCAFÉ, household powdered milk products like Nestlé Nespray and Nestlé Klim, and the chocolate malt beverage Nestlé Milo – demonstrate this commitment. In addition, there are many practical ways in which consumers can rethink the way that they repurpose materials, such as empty NESCAFÉ jars. Beyond recycling, the jars can be used to store various dry goods; you can decorate your garden by using them as planters, they can be wrapped and used for putting thoughtful gifts inside, and you can even use them as a decorative piece to store your stationery in.
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NESCAFÉ is a brand which stands out when it comes to sustainability from an environmental point of view. Not only are NESCAFÉ’s great tasting products accessible, but they are also responsibly sourced. In 2022, the brand launched its NESCAFÉ Plan 2030, which focuses on regenerative agriculture and greenhouse gas emission reduction. Building on 10 years’ experience of the NESCAFÉ Plan 2030, Nestlé is accelerating its work to help tackle climate change and address social and economic challenges in the NESCAFÉ value chains.
Some of the packaging aligns with Nestlé’s broader goal of reducing its reliance on virgin plastic. Virgin plastic, made from new rather than recycled materials, significantly contributes to environmental degradation. Nestlé has already achieved an 8.1% reduction as of 2021. In 2023, the company integrated 30% recycled plastic into all shrink film used in its packaging, leading to a 190-tonne reduction in virgin plastic annually. These efforts are part of Nestlé’s commitment to reducing virgin plastic consumption by 33% by 2025, a goal that aligns with the company’s broader vision of environmental stewardship. Further to the above, Nestlé’s ambitious strides towards plastic neutrality stand out as a significant contribution to global environmental goals. As the world’s largest food and beverage company, the company is committed to reducing plastic waste and designing recyclable packaging, addressing the growing concerns over plastic pollution. By 2025, the company aims to have 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable and has already achieved notable milestones along this journey.
In line with its vision for a waste-free future, Nestlé aims to ensure that none of its packaging —particularly plastics — ends up in landfills, oceans, lakes, or rivers. Mark Helfrich, Packaging Engineering Manager for Nestlé East & Southern Africa Region (ESAR), states, “We are committed to tackling plastic waste at every level, ensuring that our packaging does not contribute to environmental harm. By leveraging innovation and scale, we aim to deliver solutions that matter.”
South Africa’s plastic recycling landscape is also evolving, and Nestlé plays a key role. The South African Plastics Pact’s 2023 report shows that plastic waste is declining, with a recycling rate of 43.2% in 2020, including a 35.4% rate for plastic packaging. This progress is supported by a growing recycling industry that reduces pollution and provides employment for thousands of reclaimers nationwide. Nestlé’s efforts have contributed to this momentum by reducing plastic usage at a time when sustainability is more important than ever. In 2023, Nestlé reduced the amount of plastic used for pallet wrapping in its South African factories by 50%. By adopting new shrink film technology that maintains strength and tear resistance while using less material, the company reduced plastic packaging by 115 tonnes annually.
Innovation remains central to Nestlé’s efforts to tackle plastic pollution. The Fit-for-Purpose initiative optimizes packaging by reducing material thickness, size, and weight and minimises the company’s environmental footprint. A notable example of this is the 2022 lightweighting project, where Nestlé redesigned the plastic spoons included in infant formula cans for products like Nestlé Nan, Nestlé Nido, and Nestlé Lactogen. This redesign resulted in a 60% weight reduction, saving 93 tonnes of plastic annually. These efforts reflect Nestlé’s dedication to reducing plastic waste and demonstrate the company’s leadership in implementing circular economy principles, which aim to minimise waste by reusing and recycling materials.
It is essential to reflect on corporations’ role in the global effort to reduce plastic pollution and achieve a more sustainable future. Nestlé’s initiatives are a powerful reminder that large-scale businesses have both the responsibility and the capacity to lead by example. The company’s ongoing efforts to reduce plastic waste, increase recyclability, and design packaging for a circular economy reflect a long-term vision of sustainability that extends far beyond corporate profitability.
Nestlé’s leadership in this area demonstrates that achieving plastic neutrality is possible and within reach, if companies commit to making sustainability a core part of their operations. As Helfrich concludes, “Plastic neutrality is not a choice — it’s a necessity. We have the opportunity and responsibility to create lasting change, and every step we take brings us closer to a world where waste is minimised, and resources are preserved for future generations”.
Nestlé’s continued commitment to plastic neutrality offers hope that a waste-free future is achievable through innovation, collaboration, and determination. It also sets a new standard for corporate environmental responsibility.
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