Further commitments from
Zespri include ensuring
its plastic packaging will
be made from at least
30% recycled plastic
by 2025, along with reducing its
packaging footprint by 25% per
kilogram of fruit produced by 2030.
These announcements are based
on the company’s values of
“optimising natural resources and
fostering health and well-being”
says Zespri’s chief innovation and
sustainability officer Carol Ward.
“Today’s consumers care about
what their food is wrapped in, want
to know more about where it comes
from and are seeking reassurance
that it’s been grown in a way that
enhances the environment and
supports livelihoods.
“We already have much to be proud
of including having 95% of our
packaging used to transport our
kiwifruit to market as cardboard,
but we realise there’s more to do.
“The ambitious targets we’ve
outlined today are therefore
about driving our next stage of
development and aligning with our
purpose, our brand promise and
our premium product position.”
Ms Ward says a dedicated
programme has been established
to focus on sustainable packaging
and will build on other packaging
changes Zespri has already made.
These changes include reducing
the weight of liners used in
cardboard transport packs, trialling
fibre-based solutions for pocketpacks,
implementing improved
recycling options, and eliminating
all unnecessary packaging.
Last year Zespri signed up, along
with other major brands, to the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s
New Plastics Economy Global
Commitment which works with
industry partners to create a
circular economy for plastic.
Outside of packaging, the company
has also revealed a number of
other sustainability commitments,
including being carbon positive by
2035, monitoring nutrient inputs
and losses as well as its impact on
water, disclosing its climate risks
and opportunities by August 21
and developing an industry wide
climate change adaptation plan by
December 2022.
“We already
have much
to be proud
of including
having 95% of
our packaging
used to
transport
our kiwifruit
to market as
cardboard,
but we realise
there’s more
to do.”
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