(BRAIN) — Two European cycling industry associations started a campaign to reduce plastic and eliminate unnecessary packaging.
The Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) and Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) created a shared commitment for industry, which they said also is endorsed by PeopleForBikes. The goal is to create a circular economy for packaging to eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems.
The Cycling Industry Sustainable Packaging Pledge so far has 56 companies committed to:
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Sharing and endorsing the common vision for more circular and sustainable packaging solutions with their supply-chain partners.
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Working with supply-chain partners to reduce problematic plastic packaging and eliminate unnecessary packaging within their supply chain by 2025.
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Working with supply-chain partners to ensure that all supply-chain packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025.
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Working with supply-chain partners to increase recycled content within packaging materials by 2025.
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Creating customer/retail facing packaging commitments, which align with or exceed the common vision by 2025.
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Sharing progress and updates with the wider cycling industry through the CONEBl/CIE Sustainability working group forum.
According to CONEBI and CIE, packaging volumes continue to rise globally. In 2019, the EU packaging waste volume reached a high of 79.3 million tonnes, 60% of which was paper, cardboard, and plastic. In the U.S., plastic packaging alone created over 14.5 million tons of waste. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals estimate, by 2050, the resources of three planets will be required to sustain the lifestyles of one.
They say the increasing waste volumes are inflated by excessive and unnecessary packaging designs — which, alongside single-use models, non-recyclable materials, and plastic entering the environment — are creating numerous challenges for the planet, climate, and biodiversity.
“As an Industry, we believe it is time for change. We are uniting behind a shared vision of creating a circular economy for packaging, which is in line with the European Commission’s goal for a new circular economy. For packaging, this includes the designing out of waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use for longer, and retaining material and resource value by returning it to the system, protecting our natural ecosystems. The signatories of the packaging commitment pledged to work with their supply-chain partners to ensure that all supply-chain packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025.”
Some of the companies committed to the pledge include SRAM, Bosch, Brompton, Continental, and Pon. For more information on the pledge, go here. To join and sign the pledge, go here.
