Company Aims to Make 100% of its Packaging Recyclable, Reusable or
Compostable by 2025; Increase Usage of Recycled Materials; Pledges to
Set Science-based Emissions Reduction Targets
PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 31, 2018--
As part of its commitment to reduce natural resource needs and manage
overall environmental footprint, The Kraft Heinz Company today announced
the expansion of its environmental stewardship strategy to include
time-bound targets for achieving greater packaging sustainability and
setting science-based goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, Kraft Heinz supports the move toward a circular economy
and aims to make 100 percent of its packaging globally recyclable,
reusable or compostable by 2025. This announcement, a complement to its Growing
a Better World strategy released in last year’s Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, supports the Company’s broader
efforts to improve the sustainability of its supply chain.
“Our collective industry has a massive challenge ahead of us with
respect to packaging recyclability, end-of-life recovery and single-use
plastics,” said Bernardo Hees, CEO at Kraft Heinz. “Even though we don’t
yet have all the answers, we owe it to current and future generations
who call this planet ‘home’ to find better packaging solutions and
actively progress efforts to improve recycling rates. That’s why Kraft
Heinz is placing heightened focus on this important environmental issue.”
Kraft Heinz will aggressively pursue technical alternatives while also
collaborating externally to advance its commitment to deliver 100
percent recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025. The
Company will partner with packaging experts, organizations and
coalitions to explore technical, end-of-life and infrastructure
solutions, and is already collaborating with Environmental Packaging
International (EPI) for consulting, tracking and other specialist
services in the packaging space. The Company also will work toward
increasing the usage of recycled content in its packaging and decreasing
the overall volume of packaging used.
While the global packaging target is new, Kraft Heinz is no stranger to
advancing the sustainability of its packaging. Evidenced by previous
work in this space, the Company has been working for years to optimize
its high-volume packaging. For example, Kraft Heinz recently exceeded
its commitment to reduce the weight of its global packaging by 50,000
metric tonnes. Additionally, Kraft Heinz Europe is working to make the
recyclable Heinz Tomato Ketchup PET plastic bottle fully circular by
2022, by using recycled material that can be made back into food-grade
packaging.
Kraft Heinz will further outline its strategy and timeline for achieving
this commitment in its next CSR Report, expected to be issued in 2019.
In addition, Kraft Heinz is doing its part to accelerate the transition
to a low-carbon economy by joining the Science Based Targets Initiative
and working to set science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction
goals in its supply chain. Adoption of these particularly aggressive
targets is aimed at helping avoid a global temperature increase of more
than two degrees Celsius.
Added Hees: “We found that most of our emissions are coming from areas
outside our direct operations. To truly succeed as champions of
sustainability, we will look at our full value chain and determine where
we can make the greatest impact for our planet.”
The Company plans to announce these new science-based goals when their
current commitments expire in 2020.
For more information on sustainable business practices at Kraft Heinz,
please visit: http://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/sustainability.html.
ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is the fifth-largest food and
beverage company in the world. A globally trusted producer of delicious
foods, The Kraft Heinz Company provides high quality, great taste and
nutrition for all eating occasions, whether at home, in restaurants or
on the go. The Company’s iconic brands include Kraft, Heinz,
ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid,
Lunchables, MaxwellHouse, Ore-Ida, OscarMayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero,
Smart Ones and Velveeta. The Kraft Heinz Company is dedicated
to the sustainable health of our people, our planet and our Company. For
more information, visit www.kraftheinzcompany.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements.
Words such as "expect," "will," “aim” and variations of such words and
similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's
plans and expectations. These forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the
Company's control.
Important factors that affect our business and operations and that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, operating in
a highly competitive industry; changes in the retail landscape or the
loss of key retail customers; our ability to maintain, extend and expand
our reputation and brand image; the impacts of our international
operations; our ability to leverage our brand value to compete against
retailer brands and other economy brands; our ability to predict,
identify and interpret changes in consumer preferences and demand; our
ability to drive revenue growth in our key product categories, increase
our market share, or add products; an impairment of the carrying value
of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets; volatility in
commodity, energy and other input costs; changes in our management team
or other key personnel; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits
from our cost savings initiatives; changes in relationships with
significant customers and suppliers; the execution of our international
expansion strategy; tax law changes or interpretations; legal claims or
other regulatory enforcement actions; product recalls or product
liability claims; unanticipated business disruptions; our ability to
complete or realize the benefits from potential and completed
acquisitions, alliances, divestitures or joint ventures; economic and
political conditions in the United States and in various other nations
in which we operate; volatility of capital markets and other
macroeconomic factors; increased pension, labor, and people-related
expenses; volatility in the market value of all or a portion of the
derivatives we use; exchange rate fluctuations; risks associated with
information technology and systems, including service interruptions,
misappropriation of data, or breaches of security; our ability to
protect intellectual property rights; impacts of natural events in the
locations in which we or our customers, suppliers, or regulators
operate; our indebtedness and ability to pay such indebtedness; our
ownership structure; the impact of future sales of our common stock in
the public markets; our ability to continue to pay a regular dividend;
restatements of our consolidated financial statements; and other
factors. For additional information on these and other factors that
could affect our forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors”
disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
30, 2017. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as
required by applicable law or regulation.
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Source: The Kraft Heinz Company
The Kraft Heinz Company
Caroline Krajewski
Caroline.Krajewski@kraftheinzcompany.com
1.847.646.2567