Beiersdorf commits to sustainable packaging

The skin care company Beiersdorf targets to produce 100 % of its packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. At the same time, the company aims to increase the use of recycled content in its plastic packaging in Europe to 25 % by 2025. 

For packaging development, the materials that can be easily recycled at the end of their product life cycle are given preference Beiersdorf already generated 49 % of its sales in 2018 with products that had an optimized environmental impact in comparison to 2011. The improvements were achieved not only in the area of packaging, e.g. through material savings or the usage of FSC-certified cardboard, but also through changes in the product formulas, e.g. by using sustainably certified palm oil.

Since the beginning of 2019, Beiersdorf also supports the zero waste platform “Loop”, an initiative of the recycling company TerraCycle. During the pilot phases in the metropolitan areas of Paris and New York, Beiersdorf is participating with two products from the NIVEA MEN range. The goal of the Loop initiative is to prevent disposable packaging and instead provide consumers with a convenient and environmentally friendly alternative through long-life, refillable packaging and a continuous supply chain. The concept: Consumers collect their used-up product packaging at home, which is then collected by Loop, cleaned, refilled and re-used. Further information can be found in our press release dated 24.01.2019.

Beiersdorf employees recently demonstrated that a closed loop can really work in an internal recycling initiative. Over a period of six weeks, employees at the Hamburg headquarters and other locations in Germany collected their empty polyethylene (PE) bottles of various Beiersdorf products and returned them to the company. Afterwards they have been recycled and reused to 100% for the production of a new bottle. From 2,600 collected PE bottles that would otherwise have been disposed as waste, 2,500 new bottles could be produced. Those were then filled with the NIVEA Creme Care shower gel and offered to the employees as a symbol of Beiersdorf’s circular economy's vision.  

More information on Beiersdorf's C.A.R.E.+ strategy can be found in the press release of February 26, 2019, and further information on Beiersdorf's sustainability engagement in the current Sustainability Report.