evian® transforms its approach to plastic to become a 100% circular brand by 2025

In January 2018 evian® committed to make all of its plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic by 2025, a move that will see the natural mineral water brand adopt a ‘circular approach’ to its plastic usage, where plastic is kept within the economy and out of nature. Working in close relationship with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to define this roadmap, evian® will move from a linear model to a circular one, where all bottles will be made from recycled plastic without the need for any virgin plastics. This will enable plastic to evolve from potential waste to become a valuable resource.

evian® plans to achieve this through pioneering partnerships to redesign its packaging, accelerate recycling initiatives and recover plastic waste from nature.

•           Redesigning packaging

Today, all evian® bottles are designed for circularity, meaning they are 100% recyclable and contain on average across the range 30% recycled plastic (rPET).

In order to achieve its 2025 ambition, evian® is partnering with breakthrough technology companies, one of which is Loop Industries. Loop Industries has developed a technology that enables a continuous loop for recycling at large scale, transforming all types of PET plastic waste into the high-quality plastic required by evian®.

 

•           Accelerating recycling initiatives

evian® is collaborating both globally and locally with governments, recycling industry partners such as Veolia and consumers in the markets where it operates to increase collection and recycling rates of waste plastic bottles. evian® will keep identifying and supporting recycling solutions to ensure bottles are recycled properly, reducing dependency on newly created plastic while generating a reliable supply of recycled plastic.

evian® is determined to leverage its global voice to drive consumer behavior change around plastic waste and recycling.

To help drive this initiative, evian® created three educational documentaries with VICE Impact.

In addition, evian® partnered with National Geographic to create several content pieces to change consumer perceptions towards plastic as a resource, available here and here.

 

•           Seeking zero plastic bottle waste

Since 2009, through the Danone Ecosystem Fund, Danone supports long term locally-led collection initiatives with positive social, environmental and business impacts, from reverse vending machines to inclusive recycling programs. evian® seeks to further help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. To do that, evian®, through its parent company Danone, is taking part in a research mission with The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch non-profit start up that has developed scalable advanced technologies to help rid the oceans of plastic.

Calling for collaboration with partners

To drive the step change required today, evian®, knowing that it cannot work alone, calls for collaboration across industries and beyond to achieve a sustainable, large-scale change in plastic usage and waste management. Therefore, evian® is partnering with Mission 2020 to inspire others in this move at the World Economic Forum in Davos and other international events in 2018.

Christiana Figueres, convener of Mission 2020 and former Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework on Climate Change is confident we can make progress; she said, “for the first time ever we’re the generation that has the knowledge and the technology to stem the rise in global temperatures, but we need to move faster. Brands taking bold steps such as evian® will help shift the needle and bend the emissions curve.”