Better By Design (BBD) Project results in Grupo Union (Peru)
The BBD pilot testing in Grupo Union (producing granola and other food products) aimed to propose and test improvements in selected products to reduce GHG, waste and pollution generation as well as energy, water and materials use. By changing the PET packaging with a more sustainable one (compostable), the environmental indicators were improved. Focus groups carried out confirmed that this change is well-accepted especially by millennial who re-affirm a move towards more sustainable lifestyles.
An update about the activity is here: in Peru, market leaders Productos Unión wanted to improve the sustainability of a popular granola product. Pilot Testing was implemented in 2018 at Productos Unión. The local partners from Grupo GEA (and its National Cleaner Production Centre - CER) and the BBD team of experts identified an opportunity to replace the non-recyclable packaging to biodegradable packaging certified to the EN 13432 standard. With an anticipated 250,000 packets produced each year the change of packaging could have significant impact on the sustainability of the product through not only less waste in landfills and the ocean, but also through about 10 tons less CO2-equivalent. This change will be implemented in 2019 and will be the first of its kind in Latin America. Millennial consumer focus group feedback shows a positive response to this product. Moreover, the product will improve its carbon footprint along the value chain by changing some ingredients with others implying less CO2 emissions. Marketing of the new product will follow the UN Consumer Information Guidelines based on the assessment done for the current packaging. I am most proud about having achieved the engagement and commitment of Grupo Union willing to pilot ground-breaking innovations such as the change of a PET packaging by a compostable one for food. The feedback of the company is very positive and Grupo Union wants to upscale the results of the Pilot Testing. The main challenge was related to the cost-benefits of this project which were unclear at the beginning. Once we got budget-related information from suppliers and certification bodies (that issue the EN 13492 certificate for packaging), the company could make decisions on moving forward. I would recommend to exchange more openly real costs of changes to facilitate the decision-making process by companies.
Actors involved
Lead
Value Chain Stages:
Packaging
