Coca-Cola, Ford, Heinz, Nike and Procter & Gamble launch new working group to promote adoption of plant-based plastics

Five of the world’s most high-profile companies have announced they are to work together to accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable plant-based plastics capable of replacing plastics made from fossil fuels.

Coca-Cola, Ford, Heinz, Nike and Procter & Gamble confirmed last week that they are together on the new Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC), a working group tasked with accelerating the development of plastics made from 100 per cent plant-based materials and fibres.

PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is one of the world’s most popular plastics, providing a durable and lightweight material that is used in a huge range of products from food and drink packaging to clothing and carpets.

However, PET is traditionally derived from oil and is slow to break down, creating enormous levels of non-biodegradable waste each year.

A number of companies, including the five firms behind the new working group, have been trying to develop alternatives to PET based on organic materials, which reduce the carbon footprint of the material and limit its contribution to landfill.

For example, The Coca-Cola Company launched a so-called PlantBottle in 2009, a new plastic bottle made partially from plant-based materials, and announced last year that the plastic has been licensed for use by Heinz.

The company said the new PTC group would look to accelerate research designed to increase the proportion of plant-based materials contained in PET to 100 per cent.

“By leveraging the research and development efforts of the founding companies, the PTC is taking the lead to affect positive change across multiple industries,” the company said.

“PTC members are committed to researching and developing commercial solutions for PET plastic made entirely from plants and will aim to drive the development of common methodologies and standards for the use of plant-based plastic including life cycle analyses and universal terminology.”

The group is also expected to analyse best practices for the emerging bioplastic industry to help ensure the plant-based materials used to manufacture bioplastics are sustainably sourced.

Some environmental campaigners have voiced concerns that unless safeguards are put in place, increased demand for bioplastics could have similar adverse environmental impacts to those associated with biofuels, whereby rising demand for agricultural land pushes up food prices and contributes to deforestation.

But Erin Simon, senior program officer of packaging for WWF, said that sustainable bioplastics could have a key role to play in reducing the environmental impact of many global firms.

“Fossil fuels such as oil have significant impacts on the planet’s biodiversity, climate and other natural systems” she said in a statement.

“Sustainably managing our natural resources and finding alternatives to fossil fuels are both business and environmental imperatives. It’s encouraging to see these leading companies use their market influence to reduce dependence on petroleum-based plastics. We hope other companies will follow their lead.”