Packaging sustainability strategy

Less packaging is about reducing unnecessary packaging and especially the use of virgin plastic material.

Since 2018, we have advanced a comprehensive strategy to reduce our use of virgin plastic through a range of strategic actions. We reduce packaging through redesign and innovation, while maintaining product protection, quality and functionality.

We also work to increase recycled content in our plastic packaging to support packaging circularity, reduce the use of natural resources and contribute to building demand for recycled materials.

Scaling up the use of recycled content

We use recycled content in parts of our packaging materials mix, including plastics, fiber, metals and glass.

As of year-end 2025, our primary, secondary and tertiary packaging materials hosted 40.8% recycled content by weight*. We are continuing these efforts relating to recycled content use in appropriate applications.

For example, the plastic packaging for Purina ONE in Europe as well as KitKat produced in the UK&Australia included food-grade recycled content. More than 80% of aluminum in our Nespresso capsules (Original and Vertuo) is made using recycled materials.

We have increased the use of mechanically recycled plastics in non-food-contact applications, including Tidy Cats pails and jugs in the United States, as well as shrink and stretch films used for secondary and tertiary packaging across multiple markets.

For paper-based non-food-contact applications, such as trays, our efforts continue to focus on increasing the use of recycled content.

Read more on Nestlé’s Packaging sustainability strategy (pdf, 12Mb) and under what we are doing to tackle packaging waste.

* Learn more in the Environmental Disclosures section of our 2025 Non-Financial Statement (pdf, 16Mb).

To reduce the need for disposable packaging, where feasible, we are exploring the use of innovative packaging systems designed for reuse and refilling while fulfilling consumer needs. Widespread adoption of these systems requires industry collaboration and supportive legislation.

As per the Ellen MacArthur Foundation definition, business-to-consumer (B2C) reuse models are grouped into two categories - Refill and Return - across four models (Refill at home, Refill on the go, Return from home, Return on the go).

In a return model, the empty packaging is returned to a drop-off point or picked up at home, as it is designed to be used multiple times without significant modification or loss of function. In a refill model, users refill their own reusable container - at home or on the go - with product purchased from the final distributor.

In previous years, we have had over 20 pilot consumer solutions in different markets around the world. That includes a pilot that Nestlé France launched with Le Fourgon for KitKat and Nestlé Dessert products in reusable stainless-steel containers through a deposit-return system. In this pilot, consumers received products in reusable containers that were collected after use, washed and returned to circulation, demonstrating the application of reuse systems in everyday grocery categories. 

More needs to be done to scale up reuse and we are collaboratively working with different coalitions, such as Consumer Goods Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation along the value chain to enable conditions, including supporting legislation, packaging standards, transport and consumer incentives.

Read more on Nestlé’s Packaging sustainability strategy(pdf, 12Mb) and under what we are doing to tackle packaging waste.

We design our packaging to be compatible with packaging waste management systems. For the same reason, we are also pioneering alternative paper- or polymer-based packaging materials.

We continue our efforts to design more of our packaging for recycling systems, including plastic packaging. The Rules of Packaging Sustainability (pdf, 1Mb) guide our packaging design teams. They are a comprehensive set of packaging design rules, building on external and internal guidelines. They include Golden Rules and a Negative List as core elements.

Some examples includes products like Toll House, La Lechera, Purina One, and DiGiorno Pizzas.

Where technically feasible and accepted by consumers, we consider alternatives to plastic, such as paper packaging or compostable materials. Nescafé paper soft packs in Europe illustrate how we are translating our strategy into action by replacing plastic with paper-based materials designed for local recycling systems. Paper-based coffee pods as for Nescafé Dolce Gusto. Dolce Gusto Neo pods in Brazil are certified for industrial composting. This means they maintain the quality and convenience consumers expect.

We are also collaborating with industrial partners to develop new packaging materials and solutions, and we continually seek to create innovative packaging solutions that provide optimal product protection and performance within our Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences.

Read more on Nestlé’s Packaging sustainability strategy (pdf, 12Mb) and under what we are doing to tackle packaging waste.

We support the development of efficient collection, sorting and recycling systems to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for packaging.

We actively support packaging waste management infrastructure development and encourage system-level capacity improvements.

In countries with mature waste-management infrastructure and regulations in place, we contribute to waste management systems through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, further complemented by active advocacy for effective EPR schemes.

In countries where waste management infrastructure and regulations are still developing, we proactively support the scale-up of waste management systems through our voluntary Plastic Recovery and Recycling Plan (PRRP), which includes supporting the collection, sorting and recycling of plastic waste as well as, advocating for the set-up of well-functioning and cost-efficient packaging EPR systems.

An example of this is our work in Quito, Ecuador, where we have been strengthening the role of informal waste collectors, known locally as recicladores, and integrating them into structured circular systems. Working alongside long-standing partners RENAREC (the national network of waste pickers) and GIRA (a circular economy social enterprise) we aim to deliver an inclusive model of material recovery.

In Indonesia, the Nestlé Waste Station initiative has seen the installation of waste collection points in major cities like Jakarta and Surabaya, promoting household waste segregation and proper disposal.

In Vietnam, we are working with Duy Tan to expand high-quality mechanical recycling capacity for PET. This partnership aims to increase the availability of food-grade recycled resin through improved sorting and processing.

In Brazil, we are partnering with Reciclar pelo Brazil to strengthen waste picker cooperatives by improving infrastructure, equipment, and operational capacity. We are promoting the cooperatives' role as formal service providers within the recycling system.

You can read about some of our other projects in the following locations:

Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia or Philippines.

Read more on Nestlé’s Packaging sustainability strategy (pdf, 12Mb) and under what we are doing to tackle packaging waste.

Accelerating progress towards our circularity ambitions requires coordinated action from all stakeholders, including consumers, employees and customers.

We anticipate three complementary shifts: employees embedding circularity principles into daily decisions, customers partnering with us to enable better collection and recovery systems, and consumers being supported to sort, return, reuse or dispose of packaging correctly.

Employees: We will continue to build the capabilities needed to make circularity part of everyday business decisions. Global training programs help employees apply Nestlé's packaging sustainability strategy while strengthening skills in packaging design, circularity, claims, consumer communication and how to work with local collection, sorting and recycling systems.

Customers: We work with retail and out-of-home customers to make circular actions easier and more visible at the point of purchase and use. This includes supporting collection points, digital guidance and local activation where customers can help consumers identify where and how to dispose of or return packaging. Examples include Nespresso's capsule collection program in the U.S, which guide consumers on how to return used capsules through various collection options and makes recycling possible in various ways including boutique and retail partner drop-offs.

Consumers: We will continue to make the desired behaviors clear, simple and actionable so consumers can participate in circular systems with confidence. This includes education campaigns, on-pack guidance and digital communication that encourage correct sorting, returning, reusing or composting where appropriate. Examples include Nescafé Dolce Gusto consumer education campaigns in Germany and Mexico, as well as compostable coffee pod launches by Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Nespresso in Brazil, France and Switzerland, supported by digital campaigns and on-pack information encouraging the separation of household organic waste and compostable materials.

Read more on Nestlé’s Packaging sustainability strategy (pdf, 12Mb) and under what we are doing to tackle packaging waste.