Following the news that Nestle SA has pledged to invest US$2.07bn (CHF2bn) on food-grade recycled plastics in its packaging;

Shagun Sachdeva, Consumer Insights Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“As society as a whole embraces environmental awareness and protection, consumers expect brands to reflect those and act responsibly in their commitments right from sustainable methods of production, ingredient-sourcing to packaging. Against this backdrop, the strategic move to shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics are part of Nestle’s larger focus to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025.

“GlobalData 2019 Q3 consumer survey reveals that 53% consumers in Asia-Pacific (APAC) consider easy to recycle factor while making the purchase decision, whereas 8% consumers want their product to be plastic-free and 7% consumers look for a product made from sustainable or renewable sources.

“Last year, Ikea and Nestle partnered to replace 100% fossil oil with bio-based renewable resources. Other companies such as Nissin Foods, Suntory Holdings Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Procter & Gamble Co also shifted towards sustainable packaging.

“These packaging innovations from consumer companies are indicative of how these companies are proactively taking the onus to convince consumers beyond marketing by committing themselves to justify the environmental impact of their products and business activities. Such sustainability initiatives will not only deliver near-term gains to the companies, but also bring in long-term ethical culture and process changes that will lead to scalable efficiency advances.”