Cranswick has also made a call on food peers to collaborate and take a joined-up approach to take responsibility for the environmental impact of plastics as a matter of urgency.
Cranswick believes a key step is to lobby the government to look at the full life cycle of products and not simply collecting materials for recycling, but getting waste packaging back in the system to replace virgin materials for manufacturing new products.
Cranswick plc chief Adam Couch says: “The environmental impact of plastics, with regards to the damage they cause to the world’s oceans and landfill, has become a major global issue and one that we seek to address as a matter of urgency. While we commend the government for putting this issue on the political agenda through the new 25 Year Environmental Plan, we believe as a major UK manufacturer we have a responsibility to help drive systemic change to end global plastic pollution.
“More importantly, nor do we need to wait that long (2042) to achieve our goals. Ensuring a sustainable future for our planet should be a priority for every retailer, manufacturer, local authority and individual globally – and it is our collective responsibility to ensure there is the opportunity to be able to reduce, re- use and recycle as much as is possible to minimise the impact on our environment.”
Cranswick says that by 2025 it will:
- REDUCE – the weight of their plastic packaging from farm to fork by 50%.
- RE-USE – all of their internal materials in a closed loop system across their business
- RECYCLE – ensure that all packaging they use is not only 100% recyclable but easily recyclable supporting circular waste solutions
Jim Brisby, group commercial director at Cranswick plc. adds: “Our consumers are constantly demanding convenient food solutions, and the packaging solutions currently available can make the problem worse. Much of this packaging is not easily recyclable and we have a responsibility to address this issue.
“The results of an internal sustainability review in 2017 illustrated how important waste and recycling is to our staff and stakeholders. This strategy will now form a major part of Cranswick’s new group sustainability initiative “Second Nature”, which seeks to address key issues from farm to fork. Our ambition is to lead sustainability across agriculture and food production on a global scale by integrating sustainability as second nature to what we do, how we work, and why we do it.”
