Increased recycled material uptake part of RETAL’s CSR strategy
Increased investment to support its role in the circular economy is very much on the agenda at plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL, with new equipment and management implementation bringing quantifiable CSR results.
Sustainability Director Emmanuel Duffaut says, “We have made significant progress in the management of all our environmental and social impacts, showing CSR is increasingly embedded in RETAL’s business. I am proud to lead the CSR actions in a company that acknowledges its influence and impacts and take on its responsibility to mitigate them such as, for example, progressively contributing to the plastic Circular Economy.”
The three core areas of influence are increasing recycled material uptake, promoting Design for Recycling (DfR), and plastic pollution awareness and education. Duffaut adds, “We are transparent about our first steps in these three axes of our strategy with heavy investment in our processing capacity of rPET, engagement with our customers on recyclability guidelines and cleanup activities with our local communities”.
Investments include a third production line installed at RETAL Baltic Films, at a cost of €3.3 million, which now means that up to 100% rPET can be used, of various colours (including black) and quality grades, to make reliable food-grade films. The RETAL Lentvaris factory also invested in equipment to allow it to use rPET flakes in a greater capacity, with production in place, and RETAL Lithuania has installed the largest
solar panel roof in the Baltic States.
The recently published 2019 Sustainability Report from RETAL further explains progress in its climate change action, with a major reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (down 17% from its 2018 base year), which contributed to its B score in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). It also shows a 45% increase in the purchase of renewable electricity, representing 30% of its total consumption, and how light-weighting is enabling the company to save over 3500 tons of CO2.
Duffaut explains, “Our management of climate change is a real success story, and we intend to continue mitigating our impact by continuously increasing our consumption of renewable energy and improving our energy efficiency across the whole company. A B-score from the CDP for our first evaluation show that we are on the right track, so we’re motivated to carry on and keep pushing boundaries.”
For further information regarding RETAL’s Labour Practices, Human Rights, Sustainable Procurement, and all CSR issues, the company’s 2nd annual Sustainability Report is available for download here.
