Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

We are committed to improving our impact on the environment.

Image showing solar panels. Helping the environment

Commitment to Sustainability

At Perfetti Van Melle, we’re committed to working in harmony with the world around us and conducting our business in a manner that is respectful of the planet and its people. We work in compliance with any governmental requirements within the countries where we do business and have in place a sustainability governance model, overseen by our Chief Sustainability officer, Sustainability Steering Committee, and Executive Committee (made up of our chief officers and CEO.)

We are focused on improving our environmental impact by targeting our packaging materials, carbon footprint and water footprint.

Our Sustainable Packaging Targets by 2025

We are fully committed to delivering against meaningful measures to improve the environmental impact of our packaging, and to eliminate plastic packaging where possible.

Our packaging program is part of our larger Perfetti Van Melle sustainability program ensuring that our organization is working together globally to reduce our plastic packaging use.

Currently, our plastic packaging use is approximately 40,000 tonnes per year and we have 2025 packaging goals related to Reduce, Recycle, Recover:

  • Reduce plastic per tonne of product by 15% by 2025.*
  • Avoiding 5000 tonnes of not recycle-ready plastic by 2025.
  • Provide 100% of consumer packs with disposal indicator by 2025.

* versus 2017 baseline

Our New 2030 Sustainable Packaging Strategy

Strategy Introduction

As we approach the end of our 2025 sustainable packaging targets, Perfetti Van Melle is excited to introduce its new 2030 Sustainable Packaging Strategy.

This new strategy builds on our previous packaging targets, incorporates lessons learned, best practices, and new focus areas, such as increasing the use of recycled and sustainably sourced materials in our packaging. These actions reflect our commitment to meeting the environmental expectations of our customers and consumers, while ensuring compliance with key regulations, including the European Union's PPWR.

Our 2030 targets are designed to be realistic, achievable, and fully aligned with legal requirements across our global markets.

Developed according to the principles of a circular economy, the strategy is structured around three guiding pillars Redesign, Reduce, and Recover through which, by 2030, we aim to:

REDESIGN packaging materials to improve circularity and reduce environmental footprint:

  • Target 1: 80% of total PVM packaging by weight to be Designed for Recycling
  • Target 2: 100% of virgin paper-based packaging to be responsibly sourced from certified origins

REDUCE the intensity of plastic packaging and transition to post-consumer recycled plastics.

  • Target 3: Achieve an average of 13% of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic across total packaging weight
  • Target 4: Reduce virgin plastic intensity* by 10%**

RECOVER packaging materials by helping consumers dispose of packaging waste correctly.

  • Target 5: Implement relevant waste disposal indicator on all*** new and re-designed consumer product packaging

* plastic intensity is the total weight of plastic packaging (in grams) we use per 1 kg of finished product. ↩

** compared to a 2024 baseline. ↩

*** excluding consumer packs that are too small for the indicator to be legible. ↩

Improving Carbon Footprint & Water Usage

We’re fully committed to improving the environmental impact across our value chain, currently focusing on the carbon emissions and water usage in manufacturing our products.

As of 28 March 2024, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), has officially approved Perfetti Van Melle’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for 2030. This approval marks a significant milestone in our commitment to reduce GHG emissions both within our own operations and throughout our supply chain. Our efforts are aligned with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, in accordance with the targets established by the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Learn more about our SBTs

Carbon Footprint

As of 2023, we have achieved an absolute reduction of carbon emissions by 20%* through a combination of:

  • Investing in on-site generation of renewable energy (to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions)
  • Procuring low carbon electricity (to reduce scope 2 emissions)
  • Implementing continuous improvement and energy-efficiency initiatives
  • ISO 14001 Certification of production facilities.

* when compared to 2016

Water Usage

Our current goal is to reduce incoming water usage across our manufacturing sites.

As of 2023, we have achieved an absolute reduction in water usage by 11%* through the implementation of continuous improvement and water-efficiency initiatives.

* when compared to 2016