Taking heed of the global call to ensure sustainable consumption and production, pursuant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (12)-multinational Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company, Unilever has stated that it will fully recycle and reuse all of its plastic packaging by 2025.
Already the company remains committed to reduce the weight of the packaging it uses this decade by one-third by 2020 and increase its use of recycled plastic content in its packaging to at least 25% by 2025 against a 2015 baseline. All these forms part of the ‘Unilever Sustainable Living Plan’.
Unilever head honcho, Paul Polman stated a few days ago that: “Our plastic packaging plays a critical role in making our products appealing, safe and enjoyable for our consumers; yet it’s clear that if we want to continue to reap the benefits of this versatile material, we need to do much more as an industry to help ensure it’s managed responsibly and efficiently post-consumer use.”
The company stands a good chance to make appreciable progress towards achieving ‘Sustainable Development Goal’ 12 (sustainable consumption and production) if it treats plastic packaging as a valuable resource. This will help to move away from the ‘take-me-dispose’ model of consumption to a model which is fully circular on plastic packaging.
As a result, Unilever has urged the (FMCG) industry around the world to work hard towards achieving a circular economy. Polman reiterated that: “We hope these commitments will encourage others in the industry to make collective progress towards ensuring that all our plastic packaging is fully recyclable and recycled.”
Furthermore, he said: “We also need to work in partnership with governments and other stake holders to support the development and scaling up of and reprocessing infrastructure which is so critical in the transition towards a circular economy. Ultimately, we want all of the industry’s plastic packaging to be fully circular.” Unilever strives to make sustainable living commonplace across its 400 brands around the world.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s): represent a new universal set of seventeen (17) aspirational Goals spearheaded by the United Nations (UN) to help transform the world by 2030. Goal (12) of the SDG’s urges all countries to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. This helps to promote resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all.
Sustainability or sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
By Dela Ahiawor, African Eye Report
Follow me on twitter @DAhiawor
