Waste and Opportunity 2020: Searching for Corporate Leadership
Publication Date: 2020 | As You Sow
Executive Summary — Plastic pollution is a global crisis that is actively threatening oceans, wildlife, and public health. Plastic pollution has rapidly elevated to crisis level in the past three years as better data on the scope of the problem has become available. Single-use packaging has grown to be a major component of the four million to 12 million tons of plastic trash that escapes capture and is swept into waterways annually. To address these pollution concerns, as well as reduce the use of extractive resources, companies must prioritize a shift away from wasteful single-use packaging and move toward circular models that prioritize significant, absolute reductions in overall use of plastic, as well as promote reusability, recyclability, or compostability in their packaging.
This study measures the progress of 50 large companies in the beverage, quick-service restaurant, consumer packaged goods, and retail sectors on six core pillars where swift action is needed to reduce plastic pollution: 1) Packaging Design, 2) Reusable Packaging, 3) Recycled Content, 4) Packaging Data Transparency, 5) Support for Recycling, and 6) Producer Responsibility. The report provides letter grades on the 50 companies, based on their quantitative performance on these six core pillars. The grades inform stakeholders and investors about which companies are leading and lagging in creating sustainable packaging. Also, the report’s criteria provide tangible metrics to help companies continue to improve their packaging management strategies as they enter the new decade.
Company progress was most evident in pledges to redesign packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable, followed by commitments to recycled content and actions to support recycling. More companies demonstrated leadership in these categories and received A or B grades. There was notably less leadership in the areas of reusable packaging innovation, data transparency, and producer responsibility as shown in Figure 1 (see Appendix A for individual company grades listed by pillar). These results indicate that companies have a long way to go to demonstrate leadership in all six core pillars.
