Making excellence a habit
Published date: |
|
Modified date: |
|
Frozen food retailer Iceland has called for greater transparency in plastic reporting as part of efforts to reduce waste across the industry and the wider business sector.
The company published its own 'plastic footprint' — which amounted to over 32,000 tonnes across its UK and international operations in 2019 — and will continue to publish the data on an annual basis.
It urged other UK retailers and businesses to do the same, and said that the UK Government should enforce mandatory reporting on plastic packaging and plastic pollution reduction targets to ensure real progress is being made.
Richard Walker, Managing Director of Iceland, said: 'Without transparency, and government enforced reduction targets, we will not be able to judge whether business actions are delivering real progress.'
He added: 'What we are asking from all major retailers and businesses is straightforward as they are already subject to PRN1 reporting and will be in the future to the Government's planned EPR2 scheme, so this will require no extra costs or resources.'
Reducing plastic packaging waste is a 'huge challenge' that can only be solved by businesses and policy makers working together, Walker argued.
'Increased recycling is important but won't solve the issue on its own. Regulated commitments to reduce plastic pollution are also vital if we are to deliver positive progress in the face of the sheer scale of plastic making its way into the environment.'
The call for transparency is supported by environmental groups Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, A Plastic Planet and Surfers Against Sewage.
A Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland said: 'If the retailers use their collective might, the brands will soon have to follow and we will finally see some real plastic reduction rather than yet more pacts and pledges. Should retailers not volunteer to do the right thing now, Whitehall must move quickly to make transparent plastic reporting a legal requirement.'
> Go to Food & Hospitality industry homepage
> Go to Industrial industry homepage
> Go to Wholesale and Retail industry homepage
Click here to provide feedback
You're seeing this article for free as
part of the Member Portal's public
article bank.
You can access Premium articles,
industry news, as well as the
Update Standards and Knowledge
Centre services by becoming a
BSI member.
All the services are updated
regularly, helping you get even
closer to industry experts and the
knowledge you need to do your job.
