Mondelēz International, the packaged foods company behind big brands like Oreo, Ritz, Clif and more, in 2024 saw its rate of packaging that is recyclable stagnate, and virgin plastic reduction efforts falter, it disclosed in its “Snacking Made Right” sustainability report last week.
The report covers the period between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024. Regarding the company’s carbon footprint, Mondelēz reported that 5% of its overall greenhouse gas emissions were linked to packaging. Mondelēz did not comment on the backwards trajectory of its virgin plastics reduction efforts, which resulted in a 4.6% increase over 2020 levels in 2024.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Goal for 2025 | |
| Packaging designed to be recyclable | 95% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 98% |
| Reduction in overall virgin plastic | 4% | 2.9% | 1.7% | (4.6)% | 5% from 2020 baseline |
| Reduction in virgin rigid plastic | — | 5.4% | 10% | 1.4% | 25% from 2020 baseline |
| Recycled plastic content in packaging | 0.5% | 1% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 5% |
Fiber materials still dominate Mondelēz’s packaging portfolio. Of the 875,800 metric tons of packaging that Mondelēz used last year, 49% was corrugated and 27% was paper. This was followed by flexibles (15%) and rigid plastics (6%), whose weight declined compared to 2023 levels. Glass and metal each constituted around 1%.
The company maintained that its approach involves reducing packaging; evolving it to feature recycled plastic, be recyclable and remove “problematic materials;” and improve the systems, infrastructure and policies that support collection. This includes extended producer responsibility as well as a “legally-binding treaty that helps harmonize global policy.” “We hope to see progress toward a ratified agreement over the year ahead,” the company wrote.
Mondelēz did not comment on if it still plans to meet its 2025 packaging sustainability goals or whether it plans to reevaluate them. But the company did use the report to point out ongoing challenges, “including a landscape of disconnected national and sub-national policies, the need to transform complex global supply chains, and the sourcing of high cost and limited availability materials.”
Still, Mondelēz has been able to transform parts of its packaging portfolio. Its incorporation of recycled plastic is inching up. There’s a slowly growing supply of recycled content for flexible film, the company said. In rigids, the company is converting plastic cookie trays in North America to include up to 50% recycled PET. And in Southeast Asia, the company eliminated plastic trays entirely across its cookie portfolio.
The company partly tempered expectations for reducing packaging in 2025. “While we believe we have a strong pipeline of projects for 2025, we anticipate facing challenges in sourcing new materials and overcoming technical challenges to qualify and implement new solutions,” the report said.
