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A Plan to Eliminate Plastic Packaging Waste from UK Bottled Water and Soft Drinks

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A Plan to Eliminate Plastic Packaging Waste from UK Bottled Water and Soft Drinks 2 CISL | Towards Sustainable Packaging Cambridge insight, policy influence, business impact The University of Cambridge Head Office Institute for Sustainability 1 Trumpington Street Leadership (CISL) brings Cambridge, CB2 1QA together business, government United Kingdom and academia to find solutions T: +44 (0)1223 768850 E: to critical sustainability [email protected] challenges. Capitalising on the world-class, EU Office multidisciplinary strengths of The Periclès Building the University of Cambridge, Rue de la Science 23 CISL deepens leaders’ insight B-1040 Brussels, Belgium and understanding through its T: +32 (0)2 894 93 19 executive programmes; builds E: [email protected] deep, strategic engagement with leadership companies; and creates opportunities for South Africa collaborative enquiry and action PO Box 313 through its leadership groups. Cape Town 8000 Over the past 30 years we have South Africa built up a leadership network of T: +27 (0)82 829 6852 over 8,000 senior leaders and E: [email protected] Towards practitioners from business, government, and civil society, who have an impact in every sector and on every continent. Their experience and insights sustainable shape our work, which is further underpinned by multidisciplinary academic research. HRH The Prince of Wales is the Royal Founding Patron of CISL and packaging: has inspired and supported many of our initiatives. A plan to eliminate plastic packaging waste from UK bottled water and soft drinks www.cisl.cam.ac.uk 3 CISL | Towards Sustainable Packaging 1 Executive summary If modern plastics were unveiled today as a new innovation, they would be rightly hailed as a The University of Cambridge Institute Rewiring stunning breakthrough. However, the significant challenges presented by plastic packaging for Sustainability Leadership the Economy waste cannot be ignored. Nor can they be solved in isolation – collective action is required from business, government, and society to create a transformational shift. For 800 years, the University The University of Cambridge Rewiring the Economy is our ten-year plan to of Cambridge has fostered Institute for Sustainability lay the foundations for a sustainable economy. The plan is built on ten interdependent tasks, leadership, ideas and Leadership (CISL) empowers Leading bottled water and soft drinks companies understand Vision for a zero plastic packaging waste future innovations that have benefited business and policy leaders delivered by business, government and finance that co-ordinated action is required across the value chain to and transformed societies. The to make the necessary leaders co-operatively over the next decade, address the challenge of plastic packaging waste from bottled The ambitious vision set out within this report is to have University now has a critical adjustments to their to create an economy that encourages water and soft drinks and to help create long-term sustainable created a bottled water and soft drinks value chain by role to play to help the world organisations, industries and sustainable business practices and delivers solutions. They see that a systemic approach, bringing together 2030 where zero plastic packaging is sent to landfill or respond to a singular challenge: economic systems in light of positive outcomes for people and societies. all stakeholders across the value chain, government and society, escapes into the natural environment. Packaging will be how to provide for as many this challenge. is required to rethink existing business models and implement made entirely from recycled or renewable materials or as nine billion people by 2050 workable solutions to eliminate plastic packaging waste and to both, will be designed to be fully reusable or recyclable within a finite envelope of land, have the greatest impact. and will be recovered or recycled. water and natural resources, whilst adapting to a warmer, Through the ambitious vision and roadmap set out in this report, Achieving this vision requires all stakeholders in the less-predictable climate. they hope to achieve significant change on this global issue in bottled water and soft drinks value chain to commit to one prominent sector in the UK that others may learn from and eliminating plastic packaging waste as a strategic apply within their sectors and in other countries by creating their priority and work collaboratively and simultaneously own systemic roadmaps and visions towards eliminating plastic towards the following four outcomes: packaging waste. A B C D An efficient and circular Standardised lowest Significant shift in Alternative bottled water resource management impact material used consumer behaviour and soft drinks delivery system for bottled water for all bottled water and and societal norms models explored and and soft drinks packaging soft drinks packaging implemented Publication details Actions required to achieve a zero plastic packaging waste future Copyright © 2018 University Authors and Reference Copies This report lays out practically how the bottled water and soft drinks value chain can work together, and more widely with others, to of Cambridge Institute for acknowledgements Please refer to this business This full document can be achieve this vision by 2030. It provides aspirational milestones for 2025 to show how these sectors should not only meet, but also Sustainability Leadership This report was written by Beverley briefing as: University of downloaded from CISL’s website: exceed, the UK Plastics Pact targets. It identifies eight immediate actions for business and government. These actions will need to (CISL). Some rights reserved. Cornaby and Jennifer Ekelund, Cambridge Institute for www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/publications be undertaken simultaneously to achieve the 2030 vision, although some will take longer to initiate and implement than others. with input from Eliot Whittington, Sustainability Leadership Disclaimer James Cole and Thomas Vergunst. (CISL) (2018). Towards Contact Led by Led by For government and The opinions expressed here Additional research was carried sustainable packaging: A plan To obtain more information government business business together are those of the authors and out by Hannah Van Den Bergh to eliminate plastic packaging on the report, please contact do not represent an official and Bianca Voicu. The report is waste from UK bottled water Adele Williams: A Comprehensively revise B Producers to continue to innovate to B Undertake comprehensive position of their companies, published by CISL on behalf of the and soft drinks. Cambridge, the Extended Producer reduce the volume of plastic used in research to investigate the optimal E: [email protected] Responsibility (EPR) policy. bottled water and soft drinks packaging material for bottled water and soft CISL, the wider University of Future of Plastic Packaging Group, UK: the Cambridge Institute Cambridge or clients. T: +44 (0)1223 768451 and ensure any packaging material used drinks packaging that eliminates whose members are: Brecon Mineral for Sustainability Leadership. A Develop and implement is 100 per cent recyclable or reusable. plastic waste while ensuring the Waters, Danone Waters (UK and consistent Deposit Return September 2018 lowest net environmental impact. Ireland), Harrogate Water Brands, Schemes (DRS) across C Commit to and seek government Highland Spring Group, Lucozade England, Scotland and Wales. mandate for a consistent, industry-wide C Undertake research into Ribena Suntory, Montgomery standard labelling for bottled water consumer behaviour change A Ensure all revenue from these Waters, Natural Hydration Council, and soft drinks packaging to ensure and societal norms for a circular new policies is earmarked and Nestlé Waters UK, Shepley Spring consumer clarity on recyclability and bottled water and soft drinks reinvested in recycling, sorting and Wenlock Spring. The report recycled content. packaging system. and reprocessing capacity. was also reviewed by a panel of D Undertake an industry-wide feasibility independent experts, whom the study on alternative bottled water and authors would like to thank for soft drinks delivery models and seek to their advice and feedback. For full implement recommendations at scale acknowledgements see page 38. where feasible. 2 CISL | Towards Sustainable Packaging 3 Contents Page 4 Introduction Page 6 The plastic packaging waste challenge Page 10 Vision for a zero plastic packaging waste future Page 12 How we get there: a plan to eliminate plastic packaging from the UK bottled water and soft drinks value chain Page 14 A An efficient and circular resource management system for bottled water and soft drinks packaging Page 20 B Standardised lowest impact material used for all bottled water and soft drinks packaging Page 26 C Significant shift in consumer behaviour and societal norms Page 32 D Alternative bottled water and soft drinks delivery models explored and implemented Page 36 Next steps and recommendations Page 38 Acknowledgements Page 40 References 4 CISL | Towards Sustainable Packaging 5 Introduction Addressing the issue of plastic packaging waste from bottled water and soft drinks requires urgent, collaborative business action. Box 1: Rewiring the Economy Our current economic system produces Action to eliminate plastic soft drinks packaging This report is the result of an industry-led, independent working This report is relevant for anyone in the bottled water positive outcomes such as jobs, healthcare and waste is viewed by CISL to be
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