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Retailers and brands hit target to end packaging growth in the UK
The grocery sector has ended packaging growth in the UK despite a sharp increase in sales, the UK Governments' waste advisers the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) said today.
Having worked with the UK's leading retailers - including all major supermarkets - to achieve this target, the sector is now on track to cut food and packaging waste. This success is the result of the Courtauld Commitment. This is a voluntary agreement between WRAP, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), the Scottish and Welsh governments and the UK grocery sector to achieve significant reductions in household packaging and food waste. Thirteen major groc ery retailers were the first to join the pioneering initiative when it was launched in 2005. There are now 32 retailers and brands involved in the Commitment.The target to end packaging waste growth was achieved by the grocery sector despite unanticipated challenges including 1.8% growth in the grocery sector and population growth of 0.5% per annum. It is the first step towards meeting the Courtauld Commitment's ultimate target of decreasing the amount of packaging waste by 2010.
WRAP today hosted a summit of top retailers and brands at which Environment Minister Joan Ruddock gave the Government perspective. WRAP revealed that signatories to the Courtauld Commitment had achieved the 2008 objective and were on target to meet the 2010 objectives on food and packaging waste. Representatives of the 32 retailers and brands took part in this summit. The retailers represent 92% of the UK grocery supermarkets.
WRAP and the grocery sector discussed possible future action on food and packaging waste, building on the success of the existing agreement.
The Courtauld Commitment is due to run until 2010. The challenges important to the delivery of the Commitment are:
• Increasing the number of grocery brands and manufacturers signed up
• Demonstrating visible change to consumers
• Delivering change throughout the supply chain
There has already been further progress on the first of these challenges with two new signatories attending the summit: Procter & Gamble and Weetabix.
There was discussion of possible ways forward on packaging and food waste after 2010, against the background of the recent report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit: Food Matters. Amongst the issues considered for any successor agreement to the Courtauld Commitment were:
• How the carbon impacts of packaging might be measured
• Considering extending the objectives to cover food waste and packaging at back of store and in the grocery supply chain
• How to encourage increasing the amount of recycled content in packaging and making the packaging itself easier to recycle
In addition, by April 2010, WRAP asked the retailers and brands to further support its Love Food Hate Waste Campaign to help achieve its objective of a 155,000 tonne reduction in household food waste. WRAP explained that the contribution by retailers and brands could help make a real impact on consumer behaviour in this area. Possible actions could include developing a wider range of portion sizes, providing more extensive storage advice and clarity on date labelling. However, WRAP was clear that this will form just one part of the solution in helping consumers reduce food waste.
WRAP CEO Liz Goodwin said: “WRAP is delighted that the grocery sector has responded positively to the challenge of tackling packaging and food waste. Their achievement in ending packaging growth is an impressive one, particularly against the backdrop of unexpectedly high grocery sales and population growth. “WRAP, the retailers and brands are now looking at how to further reduce packaging and food waste in the future. The ideas we are discussing include reaching out to new areas of retail - which could potentially have a great impact on waste reduction. “WRAP also wants to thank consumer campaigners for helping to push the issue of packaging further up the agenda.”
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