Kraft Foods sheds pounds for the new year!

In 2005, Kraft Foods implemented a new packaging goal and now they are two years ahead of schedule.  The company has eliminated 150 million pounds of material from their supply chain!  Just how did Kraft Foods succeed in their new year's resolution?  Kraft designed the Packaging Eco Calculator.  This tool enables packaging developers to create new and efficient packaging strategies.  A few of these strategies include:

• In the U.S., the Oscar Mayer Deli Creations packaging was redesigned with 30 percent less paperboard which is expected to keep 1.2 million pounds (more than 500,000 kilograms) of packaging out of landfills per year. Consumers like the new package because it's smaller, convenient and takes up less shelf space, while the amount of product remains the same.
• In Europe, the removal of packaging layers for Milka chocolate bars resulted in 60 percent less weight and an elimination of 5.7 million pounds (2,600 metric tons) of packaging material per year. And Kraft Foods is spreading the design to markets in Latin America.
• In Australia, Kraft Salad Dressing bottles were redesigned to eliminate more than 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms) of plastic per year. The patented design differentiates the Kraft brand from competitors and allows more bottles to ship per truckload, effectively taking trucks off the road

In addition to the redesign of packaging, Kraft Foods began to utilize other forms of packaging.  For example, the majority of coffee produced by Kraft Foods has been repackaged into materials that require less energy and produce less waste.  Kenco coffee is now packaged in refill bags rather than glass jars.  In addition, Maxwell House, Nebob, and Yuban are now packaged in composite paperboard instead of steel cans.  These small alterations have helped Kraft Foods make a positve contribution to the environment.

However, Kraft Foods is not alone in their efforts.  They have partnered with RecycleBank, a company that rewards consumers for recycling via the redemption of recycling rewards points.  In addition to their partnership with RecyleBank, Kraft Foods is a proud sponsor of TerraCycle, a company that reuses packaging to make new products.  It is with the help of these partnerships and the redesign of their packaging products that Kraft Foods has been able to eliminate 150 million pounds of potential waste and has proven that even the smallest changes can have a heavy impact.