The study was developed with insights from over 60 leading organisations including the European Investment Bank, national governments, reuse experts and major brands and retailers such as Danone, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, and Unilever. It focuses on returnable packaging, which – once bought and returned by customers – is professionally cleaned and refilled before being sold again.
Systemiq led the analysis of the economic and environmental performance of single-use packaging and their reusable alternatives for selected beverage, food cupboard, personal care, and fresh food items. The study shows that, in the most ambitious scenario, returnable plastic packaging could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use by 35% to 70% compared to single-use plastics.
"Without a significant shift towards reuse, worldwide virgin plastic use in packaging is unlikely to decrease below today’s levels before 2050. This report addresses the critical obstacles for reuse which brands and retailers face, head-on. It’s a real breakthrough to have proven such a compelling business case for industry collaboration and reusable packaging standardisation, and to understand exactly the conditions and applications for which the business case makes sense
