Unilever, researching new directions for packaging!
Recently, Unilever announced that it would more than double its investment in research and development, aiming to reduce the use of virgin plastics in packaging, and is evaluating alternative technologies and materials. Before the summer of 2024, Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch multinational company decided to lower the 2025 environmental goals for the use of recycled plastics set four years ago under the Sustainable Living Plan in a more realistic way. The new goals foresee a 30% reduction in the use of virgin plastics in packaging by 2026 and a 40% reduction by 2028, which will be achieved by increasing the use of recycled plastics, reducing the weight of packaging, and expanding the formats and materials used.
To this end, the Unilever Group's Global Packaging Research and Development Center conducts research on alternatives, which has a team dedicated to sustainable development issues. Unilever said that in recent years, its investment in materials science and technology has more than doubled. In 2024 alone, the center classified 160 different types of recycled plastics, which enabled it to develop a digital tool to predict the color of the packaging based on the materials used, thus avoiding the need to produce physical prototypes to evaluate its appearance. The development time is expected to be saved by about 25%.
Other interventions by the center include eliminating non-essential packaging by introducing alternative and new business models, and developing recyclable and compostable bag and pouch materials, which are also alternatives to paper, which has some limitations: poor barrier properties, easy tearing during industrial production, and does not melt, making the package more difficult to seal, so it is necessary to apply a plastic layer to overcome these limitations.
Pablo Costa, Global Head of Packaging at Unilever, said: "Our packaging R&D team continuously evaluates emerging materials and technologies. To date, we have studied more than 3,000 technologies, including those from other industries such as pharmaceuticals and electronics that are not currently used in packaging. Moving to recyclable and compostable flexible paper materials will require a major transformation of the industry. There is no quick solution, but we are already starting to prepare for the transformation of the supply chain and consumers.
