2Sustain

PepsiCo now offers five options of eco-friendly, recyclable and compostable cups to its Foodservice customers in the US.

These new cup options include:

• fully recyclable clear plastic cups (one alternative is a rPET cup containing 20 percent post-consumer recycled content)

• compostable paper cups and wax cups made with plant-based materials sourced from sustainably managed forests

According to PepsiCo, the fountain cup portfolio mix empowers Foodservice customers –such as restaurants, stadiums and theme parks, and colleges and universities –to select the right green cup options based on locally available recycling and composting disposal facilities.

PepsiCo also sees the eco-friendly cups as a way to connect with consumers –particularly college and university students –who are increasingly interested in sustainable packaging options.

“The new cups are an advancement in technology, but also in the way we communicate,” said Margery Schelling, CMO PepsiCo Foodservice. “Customers increasingly are asking for environmental products that match changing needs, expectations and lifestyles. We want consumers to enjoy their favorite fountain beverages and feel good about the environmental impact of their purchases.”

In a press release, PepsiCo points out that the roll out of eco-friendly cups is aligned with the company’s global environmental goals and commitments, which include initiatives to reduce packaging waste, use rPET and renewable sources in packaging and increase the national beverage container recycling rate. Specific examples of PepsiCo innovations with respect to beverage packaging include: (more…)

After forging new partnerships with recyclers and mastering what the company calls “diligent efforts” at each of its facilities, Kellogg Company has already exceeded its aggressive 2015 goal for reducing waste sent to landfill.

More specifically, Kellogg reported a few weeks ago that nearly half of its facilities worldwide send 5 percent or less of the waste they generate to landfill, and that overall, the company has reduced its waste sent to landfill by 51 percent since 2005.

The highlights of Kellogg’s impressive waste reduction efforts are included in the company’s third global Corporate Responsibility Report, released last month on Earth Day. The report also includes updates on other key corporate responsibility initiatives in the environment, marketplace, workplace and community.

With regard to environmental stewardship, Kellogg has: (more…)

The global packaging industry continues to view sustainability as a top priority.

Among 500 packaging professionals surveyed by DuPont earlier this spring, more than 40 percent consider sustainability the toughest challenge they face.  One-third (33 percent) of those in the poll named cost as a major factor.

DuPont also found that survey participants who are working on sustainable packaging reported a wide range of different strategies. For example: (more…)

Kraft Foods is expanding its sustainability goals.

The new goals build upon previous commitments to energy, carbon dioxide, water, waste and packaging reductions and then go a step further to add measurement of transportation and agricultural commodities.

Here’s what Kraft Foods is planning to accomplish by the end of 2015:

• Increase sustainable sourcing(2) of agricultural commodities by 25 percent
• Reduce energy use in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce energy-related CO2 emissions in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce water consumption in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce waste at manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Eliminate 50,000 metric tons (100 million lbs.)of packaging material
• Reduce 80 million km (50 million miles) from transportation network
• Sustainably source 100 percent of the coffee for the company’s European coffee brands

(These new goals now include Cadbury and LU businesses acquired since 2007.)

It’s worth noting that Kraft Foods has already made some significant reductions. From 2005 through 2010, the company has reduced: (more…)

It’s only May, but Cintas Corporation has already achieved significant environmental savings in 2011. The company credits these accomplishments to: 1) comprehensive document management services and 2) an innovative plastic-to-fiber process that allows Cintas to create garments from post-consumer material such as plastic water bottles.

In a press release, Cintas says its document management division offers an environmentally-conscious approach to protecting confidential business and personal information, including records from human resources and credit card receipts.

Thanks to the company’s secure SmartShred™ process, Cintas recycled the equivalent of planting 4.4 million trees during fiscal year 2011 –an incredibly impressive achievement that saved approximately: (more…)