The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) recently joined forces with UK Pet Food, formerly known as the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, to extend the reach of its Packaging Pledge across the United Kingdom’s pet industry. The pledge, unveiled at SUPERZOO 2022, involves commitments from North American pet food companies, including Canidae, Earth Animal, Instinct, Petcurean, and Primal Pet Foods, to transition their packaging to recyclable, refillable, or compostable materials by 2025, making measurable strides towards eco-friendly packaging.
Participating companies gain access to various resources from the PSC, such as peer working groups, business case support, the Packaging Supplier Marketplace, legislative updates, a signatory badge, and benchmarking tools. UK Pet Food, representing over 90% of pet food producers in the UK, is the latest entity to embrace the PSC Packaging Pledge. Nicole Paley, Deputy CEO and Sustainability Lead at UK Pet Food said, “We would love to see a cohort of our members added to this list of signatories. When a company commits to the PSC Packaging Pledge, they are immediately provided with a variety of tools and resources to assist them in their sustainable packaging journey.”
Interested members can contact Ali Boden, PSC’s Senior Packaging Program Manager, at packaging@petsustainability.org for details on adopting the Packaging Pledge. Ali Boden emphasizes “More than 300 million lbs of flexible plastic packaging is created in North America by the pet industry each year, with 99% of it ending up in landfills due to the commonly used multilayer, multi-material nature of pet food and treat packaging. The Packaging Pledge aims to provide the resources and guidance for the pet industry to advance their packaging toward scalable, sustainable solutions and reduce landfill-bound pet packaging waste.”
Since its 2022 inception, the pledge has garnered 10 additional signatories, including Austin and Kat, Baja Naturals, Boxiecat, Fera Pet Organics, H&H Group’s Solid Gold and Zesty Paws brands, MPM Products, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies, Bausch & Lomb’s Project Watson brand, Stella & Chewy’s, and ZIWI. Joy Stevenson, B Corp Project Manager at MPM Products, highlights “Being a committed member of the Packaging Pledge has significantly transformed MPM Products’ approach to sustainability. Engaging in this initiative has allowed MPM to forge valuable connections with like-minded businesses globally. As part of this collaborative effort, we relish the opportunity to exchange innovative ideas, share experiences and address common challenges. The Packaging Pledge has created a platform for us to navigate the complexities of enhancing our environmental impact collectively.”