Material Efficiency for Sustainable Packaging

At Lindt & Sprüngli, we strive to minimize our environmental footprint throughout our value chain. Improving how we source and use our packaging material is an essential driver for this endeavor. We are determined to eliminate waste and address environmental risks such as deforestation by continuously and proactively challenging our entire packaging portfolio – from source to disposal. We understand that proper local infrastructure and markets for collecting, sorting, and recycling packaging materials, as well as enhanced consumer behavior, must exist where our products are consumed for the objectives to be realized.

We work with leading packaging manufacturers in the respective sectors who are keen to ensure sustainability and material efficiency along the entire supply chain. When making material procurement decisions, we consider our suppliers' performance in terms of sustainability among other criteria. This allows us to integrate supplier compliance into our supply chain management for packaging material and material efficiency and improve the performance of our supplier portfolio over time. One important selection criterion, for example, is the condition of production facilities as well as any programs in place for their continuous improvement. This is why manufacturers receive regular visits from our trained internal auditors.

Our Sustainable Packaging Initiative considers impacts along the complete life cycle of a package, from raw material sourcing to designing for recycling or reuse. We integrate environmental criteria in the packaging design process alongside other criteria such as food safety, quality, and cost. We also continuously and proactively challenge our product portfolio by considering ways to reduce packaging material weight, reduce packaging waste in production, and minimize packaging destruction.

In August 2021, Lindt & Sprüngli became an official member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) to support progress and collaboration toward our commitments. Becoming a member gives us access to additional knowhow and information and the opportunity to participate in collaborative research projects intended to spur actionable improvements.

Through our Sustainable Packaging Initiative we continuously and proactively challenge our entire packaging portfolio (consumer, transportation and display packaging) and strive to reduce packaging materials used, increase recycled and sustainably certified content, and achieve full recyclability or reusability. Where our quality standards permit, we use recyclable, reusable and biodegradable materials. This is also reflected in our commitment to making all our packaging 100% recyclable or reusable.

All our packaging commitments, as well as our progress, can be seen in our annual Sustainability Report.