Following investor engagement, Kraft Heinz – the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage company – and US consumer goods firm Church & Dwight have unveiled new goals to cut the use of virgin plastic packaging. The goals meet commitments made by the two companies led to the the withdrawal of As You Sow’s 2022 shareholder proposals on plastic pollution at the firms. Kraft Heinz has committed to cut virgin plastic use by 20% by 2030 over a 2021 baseline, while Church & Dwight will reduce use of virgin plastics by 30% by 2025 over a 2017 baseline. Five other large firms – Keurig Dr Pepper, Mondelez International, PepsiCo, Target Corp., and Walmart – have recently agreed to virgin plastic reductions after the filing of shareholder proposals by As You Sow. Target and Keurig Dr. Pepper agreed to reduce virgin plastic in brand packaging by 20%, Walmart agreed to a 15% cut, and Mondelez agreed to a 5% reduction, all by 2025. PepsiCo agreed to a 20% reduction by 2030. Non-profit CDP has also recently increased transparency on plastics by enabling companies to disclose on the production, use and disposal of plastic through its global environmental disclosure platform.
