Tackling the plastic pollution crisis: Unilever's VP for Packaging discusses the company's circular ambitions

We can’t recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. We need a circular economy for plastic — one that eliminates problematic and unnecessary plastic, innovates to ensure the plastic we do need is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulates the plastic items we use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.

Unilever, which has signed the Foundation’s Global Commitment to create a circular economy for plastic, has increased the recycled content in its packaging from 1% to over 11% — with a target of 25% by 2025. The company has also pledged to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses.

In this episode, Pablo Costa, Vice President for Packaging at Unilever, discusses the company’s ambitions and challenges, the importance of CEO leadership, and the need for innovation and collaboration to scale circular economy solutions and bring them to consumers.

Pablo also reveals the moment that changed his professional life — when he saw a plastic bottle from one of his brands on a remote beach while holidaying with his family — and the circular economy legacy he would like to leave at Unilever.

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Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Global Commitment

Learn more about a circular economy for plastic packaging