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Nestlé’s packaging sustainability strategy sets a goal of reducing virgin plastic use by 12% to 17% by 2030, compared with 2018. The company expects recycled plastic and reductions in packaging use to deliver most of the change; reuse and refill remain a smaller, largely pilot-stage part of the plan.
Nestlé has set a goal of cutting its virgin plastic use by 12% to 17% by 2030, compared with a 2018 baseline, in a packaging sustainability strategy published this month. The food and beverage company says it expects to make most of the reduction by adding recycled plastic to packaging and using less plastic overall, while reuse and refill programs account for a smaller share of the planned progress.
Nestlé divides its expected improvement into three areas. It expects 50% to 60% to come from using more recycled plastic, 30% to 40% from reducing or eliminating plastic, and 10% to 15% from alternative materials or reuse and refill solutions. These are the company’s projected contributions to its target, rather than reported results already achieved.
In 2025, Nestlé packaging contained about 21% recycled content. The company says it is researching food safety to expand its use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. Separately, its total plastic packaging use was 0.86 million metric tons in 2025, down from 1.7 million metric tons in 2018. Plastic made up about a quarter of its packaging portfolio by weight in 2025.
The strategy also identifies paper packaging and refill models as possible routes to reduce plastic. Nestlé cited its Nescafé paper soft packs in Europe as an example of replacing plastic laminates with paper, and said it recently joined five other founding members of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s PaperFlex Consortium. The consortium aims to speed research and development of paper-based flexible packaging. Nestlé said just 0.51% of its packaging was reusable in 2025, and described reuse and refill as largely still at the pilot stage.
Recycled Plastic Carries the Plan
The strategy places most of Nestlé’s expected progress on increasing recycled content and reducing the amount of plastic used. That makes both the availability of suitable recycled material and the ability to redesign packaging central to whether the company can meet its 2030 goal. The company’s research into food safety for recycled plastics is one part of its stated effort to expand use of recycled PET.
The figures also show that reuse and refill currently represent a small portion of Nestlé’s packaging system. The company’s projected 10% to 15% contribution from alternative materials or reuse and refill would require these approaches to develop beyond the pilot stage, or alternative materials to deliver some of that share. The strategy sets out the company’s plan; it does not establish that the projected reductions will be achieved.
A Shift From Packaging Designability
Before 2025, Nestlé had emphasized targets such as making all its packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable. The company ultimately achieved that status for about 90% of its portfolio, according to the supplied report. Its new strategy puts a more specific measure at the center: reducing virgin plastic against a 2018 baseline.
Nestlé says the 2030 target accounts for its planned sale of a stake in its water business for approximately $3.4 billion. The source material does not provide further detail on how that planned transaction changes the target calculation. The comparison between 2018 and 2025 shows that Nestlé’s total plastic packaging use had fallen, but the new target is specifically about virgin plastic use and should not be conflated with the total packaging figure.
“The company expects 50% to 60% of its planned improvement to come from incorporating more recycled plastic.”
— Nestlé
Delivery Depends on Scale
The strategy does not specify a year-by-year path for reaching the 2030 target, or provide detailed milestones for each of its three routes. It is also unclear how quickly Nestlé can expand recycled PET use after its food-safety research, and what share of packaging will move to paper or other alternatives.
The source material gives no independent assessment of the target or its projected contributions. It does not explain the calculation behind the planned water-business stake sale adjustment, or say whether the target will be revised if that transaction changes. The reported 2025 figures provide a snapshot, but the company’s future progress remains to be seen.
Milestones Toward 2030
Nestlé’s stated next steps are to increase recycled content, reduce plastic packaging, and develop alternative materials and reuse or refill options. Its food-safety research into recycled plastics and work through the PaperFlex Consortium are among the activities linked to those aims. The strategy, as described in the source material, does not set out dates for specific milestones or identify a next formal progress report.
Progress can be tracked against the 2018 baseline and the company’s reported packaging figures, including recycled content and total plastic use. Further updates would clarify how much of the planned reduction has been delivered and whether reuse and refill solutions have moved beyond pilots.
Key Questions
What is Nestlé’s virgin plastic goal?
Nestlé aims to reduce virgin plastic use by 12% to 17% by 2030, compared with a 2018 baseline.
How does Nestlé plan to make the reduction?
The company expects 50% to 60% of its planned improvement to come from more recycled plastic, 30% to 40% from reducing or eliminating plastic, and 10% to 15% from alternative materials or reuse and refill.
How much recycled content was in Nestlé’s plastic packaging in 2025?
Nestlé reported that its plastic packaging contained about 21% recycled content in 2025.
How much plastic packaging did Nestlé use in 2025?
The company reported total plastic packaging use of 0.86 million metric tons in 2025, compared with 1.7 million metric tons in 2018. Those totals describe plastic packaging use, while the 2030 target concerns virgin plastic use.
Are Nestlé’s reuse and refill programs already widespread?
No. Nestlé said reusable packaging made up 0.51% of its packaging in 2025 and described reuse and refill models as largely at the pilot stage.
Source: rss
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