Heinz Ketchup is getting an eco-friendly makeover: "The ketchup bottle of tomorrow"
According to food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz, even condiment packaging can be sustainable. The company announced this week that it's pairing up with sustainable packaging company Pulpex to develop a "paper-based, renewable and recyclable bottle."
The bottle, Kraft Heinz said, is aimed to be made from "100 percent sustainably sourced wood pulp." Heinz is the first sauce brand to test such packaging, the company said.
"This collaboration is the latest step in its journey to reduce its environmental footprint," the company said, adding that it's part of their goal "to make all packaging globally recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025."
According to Pulpex's website, the containers are made from "sustainably sourced wood pulp" that's accredited by the international NGO Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures products come from "responsibly managed" forests.
Pulpex bottles are not currently used for food and beverage due to safety regulations, according to the company's FAQ page, but the packaging is able to be recycled with paper products, and if it thrown in the trash, the company says it will degrade.
According to the company, Pulpex bottles have a carbon footprint that is 90% less than glass and 30% less than PET, a type of lightweight plastic commonly used in food and beverage containers.
Kraft Heinz is also aiming to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
"Packaging waste is an industrywide challenge that we must all do our part to address," Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio said in a statement. "That is why we are committed to taking steps to explore sustainable packaging solutions across our brands at Kraft Heinz, offering consumers more choices. This new Heinz bottle is one example of how we are applying creativity and innovation to explore new ways to provide consumers with the products they know and love while also thinking sustainably."
Numerous companies and governments have made similar pledges regarding greenhouse gas emissions, as they are the primary driver of global warming and climate change. The United Nations and the world's top scientists have all repeatedly warned that failing to reduce fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions will have devastating impacts, and said that emissions need to be reduced sooner rather than later.
In April, the U.N. issued another dire warning that global temperatures have increased by over 1.1°C, or 2°F, since pre-industrial levels, which has already created more frequent and dangerous flash floods, droughts, hurricanes and wildfires.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that to keep warming under 1.5°C – a temperature increase that would drastically exacerbate worldwide hunger, conflict and natural disasters – global emissions must be cut by 45% this decade.
Current pledges around the world, however, would only add to emissions – by 14%.
"We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris," Guterres said. "Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. ... Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic."