Sustainability news

Tackling packaging pollution

Naspers is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. We create sustainable value by building consumer internet companies that address big societal needs while actively addressing and reducing environmental impact. We operate and invest in a number of food delivery and etail businesses, which have a material packaging footprint as part of their operations.  Gerald Naber explains how at Naspers, we tackle plastic waste and pollution.

Many of us would have been shocked to see images of rivers and lakes around the world choked with packaging waste or birds suffocating with plastic packaging around their necks. Equally, we all rely on packaging to enjoy a coffee to go, store food in your freezer, or take an aspirin when in pain. Packaging protects during transportation, prevents food waste, and keeps medicines safe for use. However, while packaging has many uses, it is also a leading contributor to waste generation.

An average European generates almost 180 kg of packaging waste per year. And because we do not have sufficient solutions to deal with this growing amount of waste, increasing amounts of packaging materials escape waste management systems and damage our natural ecosystems.

Not if, but how and by when

Many governments have taken to legislation and regulations to develop sustainable packaging systems. The instrument of EPR (Extended Packaging Responsibility) regulations for packaging is increasingly introduced, like recently in South Africa. EPR systems pay for waste collection and recycling and stimulate better design-for-recycling.

Last year, the European Commission announced new packaging rules to ensure that “all packaging on the EU market is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.” And on a global scale, the United Nations Environment Assembly wants to have a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution for all 193 participating countries by 2024. These developments show that it is not a question if we will tackle the negative impact of packaging but how and by when.

Decoupling growth from impact

Some of our food delivery and etail segments also have a material packaging footprint as part of their extended operations. Over the past twelve months, we have started a collective journey through our packaging and waste working group with participants from multiple companies and geographies to develop strategies that support the growth of their businesses while reducing the environmental impact of packaging waste. 

Five fundamental principles underpin these strategies:

Understanding the packaging landscape

As we started advancing on our journey, we realised that there was no one repository of information about viable, scalable, and sustainable packaging solutions that support these principles. This was the driver to commission a landscaping report to help develop a shared and common baseline understanding of the solutions available and deep dive into all aspects of packaging. This report also covers methodologies for packaging footprinting, as well as types of materials and their pros and cons, and available for all here.

Role of platforms

We know that packaging waste and pollution is a global problem that requires local solutions and systems to tackle it successfully. Equally, we recognise the opportunities for digital platforms like food delivery and etail companies to go beyond their own packaging footprint to help their partners, such as restaurants and sellers, to also implement sustainable packaging solutions. We will further unravel these opportunities and the specific role these platforms play in a next report that will come out in early 2023.