The Schwarz Group is taking stock of the goals and progress of its Group-wide Reset Plastic strategy. The reason for this is the Global Commitment 2021 Progress Report published today by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose initiative the Schwarz Group joined back in 2018.
The interim results show: The group of companies is getting closer to its ambitious goals. Numerous sustainable optimisation measures have contributed to an average of 13 percent less plastic being used in the own-brand packaging of the Lidl and Kaufland retail divisions across all countries - for example, by eliminating disposable plastic lids from 500 gram yoghurt pots or using recyclable stickers instead of polybags in the fruit and vegetable sector. Today, 38 per cent of all fruit and vegetable products at Lidl and 57 per cent at Kaufland are already unpackaged.
PET bottles as recyclate pioneers
However, the Group is not only reducing the use of plastic wherever possible, but is also increasingly focussing on promoting the circular economy and the associated use of recyclate. Currently, the Schwarz Group already uses 10 per cent recycled material in all own-brand plastic packaging across all countries - at Lidl Germany the figure is 19 per cent and at Kaufland Germany 16 per cent (as of the 2020 financial year).
Since June 2021, all single-use deposit PET bottles produced by Schwarz Produktion for Lidl and Kaufland's own brands in Germany have been made from 100 per cent recycled plastic (excluding lids and labels). In cooperation with PreZero, Lidl and Kaufland are also offering their customers private label household goods with a 100 per cent recycled plastic content on a promotional basis - an offer that the group will continue to expand in the future.
This makes the Schwarz Group a pioneer in the circular economy and shows how recyclable materials can be recycled in the best possible way and how the need for new plastic can be reduced.
Increase the recycling target to 25 per cent
Against this backdrop, the Schwarz Group is now going one step further and increasing its recycling target: by 2025, the Group aims to use an average of 25 per cent recycled material in the own-brand packaging of its Lidl and Kaufland retail divisions.
The interim results clearly show that the Schwarz Group is constantly driving forward its vision of "Less plastic - closed loops" and is focussing on the responsible use of plastic from production and retail through to disposal and recycling.
Source: Schwarz Group
