Kellogg Announces New Global Sustainable Packaging Goal

Kellogg Company is expanding its Global Sustainability Commitments to include a goal of working toward 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by the end of 2025. This aspiration builds on Kellogg's current sustainable packaging commitment, as part of its Sustainability 2020 goals, to continue to ensure 100 percent of all timber-based packaging is either recycled or certified as sustainably sourced.

"Nurturing our planet is a foundational value of Kellogg," said Steve Cahillane, Kellogg Company chairman and CEO, in a statement. "It's imperative we are part of a solution that ensures a healthy and sustainable planet for all people around the world."

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, of the 311 million tonnes of plastic produced each year, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is collected for recycling globally and just 5 percent of it is retained for secondary use.

Kellogg said it has already made steps toward "greening" its own facilities. In April 2018, the company announced the transition to compostable and paper foodservice products in all of its plants and offices globally by the end of 2018, fully eliminating all remaining single-use foam and plastic serviceware, plastic straws and plastic water bottles.

Kellogg has also been actively working with its suppliers to identify packaging designs that minimize waste while ensuring the quality and safety of its foods. For example, in Europe, the company has launched a project to move its cereal pouches to a recycle-ready material by late 2019, which will remove an estimated 480 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging from its supply chain each year.