Supermarkets pledge to cut packaging's carbon impact by a tenth

The retail sector's war on packaging and plastic bags has opened up on a new front today with the adoption of a range of new voluntary targets designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the packaging of supermarkets and food companies.

The targets have been adopted by 28 major retailers and food brands as part of phase two of the Courtauld Commitment, which was originally launched in 2005 with a view to halting the growth in packaging waste and reducing the amount of food waste produced each year.

The new goals require firms to reduce the carbon footprint of grocery packaging by 10 per cent on 2009 levels by 2012 through cuts in packaging weight, increased recycling rates and the use of more sustainable materials. They also set a target for cutting household food and drink waste four per cent by 2012 and reducing packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by five per cent by the same date.

A spokeswoman for waste advisory body WRAP, which is managing the Courtauld scheme, said participating firms would be required to provide packaging data to the agency so that it can then calculate the carbon footprint of its packaging. "The aim is to make sure it is not too onerous for firms to get involved," she said. "We will do the calculations for them."

The voluntary targets have been adopted by many of the UK's major food retailers and brands , including Asda, Cooperative Retail, Mars, Morrisons, Nestle, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Unilever, and Waitrose.

They are expected to drive a wide range of innovations in packaging design, including shifts to more lightweight materials and greater use of recycled plastic and glass.

Hilary Benn, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, welcomed the sector's support for the new targets, but urged more retailers and food companies to sign up to the commitment.

"A fifth of household waste is packaging, and more than half of this comes from the groceries we buy," he said. "Grocery manufacturers and retailers have already started to take action and halted the increase in packaging. The new Commitment sees them go further than ever in reducing food waste and packaging, and making it smarter – and I want to see members of the industry continuing to sign up over the coming months."

The launch of the new targets came as Tesco announced it will trial plastic bottles for its own brand spirits in an effort to cut waste and carbon emissions. The company said that moving its own-brand Brandy into plastic bottles had cut packaging by 86 per cent, and it was now looking to expand the trial.