United Biscuits snubs Courtauld 2 after 13% packaging reduction

United Biscuits, which counts McVitie’s, Hula Hoops, Jaffa Cakes and Jacob’s Crackers among its brands, said it supported the overall objectives of the scheme and had made “significant progress in packaging reductions in recent years.”

“We do not believe we can achieve a further 10% saving in the next three years and have therefore not signed up to CC2, but will continue to focus on achieving our own packaging target,” the firm said in a statement to Packaging News.

United Biscuits has today published a two-year update on its environmental commitments that include a 13% reduction in packaging compared to 2003 measured on its packaging recovery note data.

The firm’s target is for a 20% reduction by 2015. Last year, it reduced the thickness of snacks film by 17% to save 200 tonnes of packaging that reduced its packaging by 200 tonnes and saved 22 tonnes by reducing the volume of its mini biscuits bags by 30%.

The Masterpieces selection box has also been changed from a tin to a cartonboard box.

Other environmental achievements include a 28% reduction in water usage since 2007 and reducing transport carbon emissions by 29% since 2005. To read the full report, click here.

Jeff van der Eems, UB’s chief operating officer, said: “After just two years working towards our environmental targets we are already finding it necessary to raise the bar as we have achieved targets early.

“Our water target has been accomplished with 10 years to spare, our transport carbon emissions target has been comfortably exceeded with three years left and we have merged our UK and Northern Europe carbon emissions target after the Northern Europe element was achieved at the beginning of 2009.”

For more on Courtauld Commitment 2, click here.

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