In response to growing stakeholder interest, we finalised our new packaging strategy in 2022, outlining clear targets in four key areas: reduction, recyclable materials, recycled content, and certification. These are further described below and you can find an overview of our progress towards our targets in our Annual Report.
Our four key areas
| Packaging volume | Target: We aim to reduce our packaging volume by 15% per tonne produced by 2024/25 relative to 2020/21 and 30% by 2029/30. | Our commitment to reducing packaging volume is crucial for our sustainability ambitions. While packaging is essential for preserving the freshness and safety of our products, we are dedicated to minimising its environmental impact. |
| Packaging recyclability | Target: We aim to ensure that 90% of our packaging materials are recyclable by 2024/25 and 100% by 2029/30. | Beyond reducing waste, a fundamental aspect of our packaging strategy is that all packaging we employ must be recyclable. Achieving recyclability is crucial to optimising resource utilisation and to enable a circular economy, and we are therefore striving for 100% of our products to be packed in recyclable materials by 2029/30. We also aim to educate consumers on the importance of packaging functionality, proper sorting in a circular economy context, and minimising food waste through thoughtful packaging usage and disposal. |
| Recycled content | Target: We aim to ensure that 40% of our plastic packaging materials are made from post-consumer recycled content in 2024/25, and 60% by 2029/30. | Our vision extends to actively contributing to the development of a more circular economy for food packaging materials. Therefore, we are working towards incorporating 60% recycled content into all our plastic packaging by 2030, with an intermediate goal of 40% by 2025. |
| Certification | Target: We aim to use 100% certified fibre packaging by 2024/25. | Responsible forestry practices are important to Danish Crown. We are committed to sourcing paper-based packaging materials that are responsibly and sustainably certified. More concretely, our target is that all our paper-based packaging materials are to have a FSC, FSC MIX or equivalent certification by 2024/25. We have already come a long way, as this has been a priority for some time now and because our preferred suppliers work to meet the same standard. |
Focus on implementation and cooperation
Our commitment to responsible packaging extends throughout our value chain, encompassing all packaging materials, from plastic to metal and paper based. To achieve our targets, we rely not only on our internal efforts but also on external factors such as technological advancements, material availability, regulatory developments, and national waste-sorting systems. We actively engage with suppliers to co-create innovative packaging solutions and materials.
To facilitate the implementation of our strategy, we have established a Packaging Committee responsible for securing resources, endorsing major initiatives, and overseeing performance. Furthermore, we have a dedicated team working on supporting the business with data and analytics and ensuring that the initiatives are coordinated and prioritised on a group level.
Our six packaging principles
Our six packaging principles, listed in order of priority, guide us in the implementation of our strategy:
- We will not compromise on food safety, shelf life or the quality of our products when implementing new packaging.
- We will not implement new packaging if it increases the likelihood of food being wasted anywhere in our supply chain by our customers or consumers.
- We will reduce the amount of packaging materials as well as the complexity of packaging materials in our operations.
- We want to actively stimulate the reuse of packaging materials and increase the use of recycled materials in our packaging.
- We aim for recyclability – either circular or spiral – and we will actively increase the amount of recyclable packaging.
- We want to actively engage with customers and consumers on the importance of food waste prevention, recyclability and separating practices.