NORTH AMERICA – American chocolate manufacturer, Hershey claims, in its ESG report that it is “hindered by an insufficient reliable supply of food grade material.”
In a statement, the Pennsylvania-based company inculpated the unreliable and insufficient supply of food-grade material caused by limited infrastructure, reclaim, sorting, and processing.
“As infrastructure evolves, we will consider the best target-setting and reporting approach to ensure that all our plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2030,” the company asserted.
“We are focused on eliminating certain non-value-added materials, improving circularity via design, and enhancing transparent and educational labeling.”
According to Hershey, the company has been able to achieve some recyclability from its peer manufacturers in the candy, mint, and gum space who have similar endeavors to make their packaging more sustainable.
The 17% of Hershey’s plastic packaging from North American-made products that the company considers recyclable are syrup bottles and caps, as well as other PET jars and pails, as the company reported.
In efforts to unlock its achievement to eliminate almost all hard-to-recycle PVC from its packaging portfolio, Hershey has attempted to redesign chocolate syrup multipack carriers from 100% post-consumer recycled content.
The report highlighted that over the next years, the company is aiming at making significant investments to qualify and convert over 2,000 items across all the manufacturing facilities to new packaging with updated labeling that will educate consumers on its recyclable components.
As part of its efforts to improve recycling Hershey listed pulp and paper packaging as a “priority ingredient.”
The company added that as of 2020, all of its pulp and paper sourced for products in U.S. and Canada operations come from recycled material or certified mills and it’s working to extend that globally by 2025.
The ESG report indicated that the packaging portfolio contributes to 11% of Hershey’s Scope 3 emissions.
According to the report, eliminating unnecessary packaging and increasing the proportion of sustainable materials are important factors in reducing Scope 3 emissions.
“Hershey is currently targeting a 25% absolute reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2030 from a 2018 baseline; it was at 10% in 2022,” the report stated.
“It’s also trying to improve distribution efficiency and decrease the number of trucks on the road, thereby reducing secondary and transport packaging.”
The report also revealed that Hershey is getting closer to achieving its Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goal, at 41% progress on a 50% reduction goal by 2030 from a 2018 baseline.
Research has shown that packaging in North America that is post-consumer recycled material totaled 32% in 2022, up from 31% in 2021 and 22% in 2020.
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