Mondelēz International, the company behind popular brands like Cadbury, Oreo, and Toblerone, has achieved significant milestones in its sustainability journey, focusing on plastic packaging circularity across Europe. The company has met its global target for reducing virgin plastic content, successfully integrating 5% recycled content into its product packaging in the European division. This move has helped reduce the company’s reliance on virgin plastic by approximately 1,000 tons annually, supporting the company's broader environmental goals.

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce virgin plastic, Mondelēz has shifted to using recycled plastic in the trays of its European flagship brands. Approximately 80% of the plastic in these trays is now recycled, a significant step toward circular packaging. These improvements reflect Mondelēz's commitment to scaling recyclable materials and exploring innovative circularity solutions in its packaging.

To further this effort, Mondelēz is investing in various recycling technologies and circularity initiatives. The company has adopted both mechanical recycling and chemical recycling methods to incorporate recycled PET (rPET) into its packaging. This includes the use of recycled PET in trays for products like Milka, Marabou, and Oreo. Additionally, in the UK, Cadbury Dairy Milk products introduced around 30% chemically recycled content in 2022, with further expansion planned across the company’s product line in the coming years.

One of the company’s key initiatives is the partnership with HolyGrail 2030 in Germany, a project aimed at improving the recycling and collection of packaging using digital watermarks to enhance sorting accuracy. The use of these technologies is expected to unlock more sources of food-grade recycled plastic, advancing Mondelēz’s packaging circularity goals.

In her statement, Catherine Burgeat, Sustainability Senior Director for Europe at Mondelēz International, emphasized, “We are proud of these milestones, as we continue accelerating our sustainable packaging journey across Europe. Replacing PET plastic trays with rPET is a major step towards reducing our virgin plastic usage and contributing to a more circular packaging economy.”

By making these significant strides, Mondelēz is helping to shape the future of sustainable packaging in the snacking sector, contributing to Europe’s transition towards more circular packaging systems in line with evolving sustainability regulations and consumer expectations.