Thursday January 28, 2010

Kraft Drops Pounds From Packs

Northfield, IL — Sustainable packaging designs, sourcing and partnerships have eliminated more than 150 million pounds of material from Kraft Foods, Inc.’s supply chain since 2005.

In confectionery, the removal of packaging layers for Kraft’s Milka chocolate bars in Europe dropped 5.7 million pounds of material, or 60 percent less weight, per year. The company plans to spread the design to markets in Latin America, according to Richard Buino, Kraft spokesperson.

“To get the biggest impact, you have to look across the supply chain end-to-end,” he says. “For packaging, that means optimizing a product’s design, using the right source materials and figuring out what to do with it after consumers are done with it. It’s also about the source ingredients and the impacts all the way up the supply chain.”

Buino says Kraft recycles nearly 90 percent of its global manufacturing waste and has exceeded its packaging reduction goal of 150 million pounds two years ahead of schedule, fueling its sustainability efforts for 2010.

“Both for retailers and consumers, it’s increasingly an important issue. Consumers are looking for products that have a different impact on the environment, and they are paying attention to companies that are acting more responsibly,” he explains. “Year after year, we are continuing to try to raise the bar.”

The company has six sustainability focus areas: agricultural commodities, packaging, energy, water, manufacturing waste, and transportation and distribution, Buino says.