Writer: Sami Anteroinen, photos: Hanne Manelius
The company aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions – from source to sale – by 2040. For example, Haleon also wants to sustainably source trusted ingredients and to integrate water stewardship and waste circularity into its operations.
Increasingly, however, Haleon is turning its attention to packaging solutions. “We’re committed to making our packaging more sustainable,” confirms John Litwak, Procurement Manager at Haleon.
“This means eliminating plastic where we can and turning increasingly to sustainable board solutions,” he says, adding that the transition to more sustainable packaging is progressing very well. Overall, Haleon is moving to a more circular model in its operations.
Team effort required
But we can’t do it alone, Litwak points out.
“We’re working with strategic partners such as Metsä Board to bring new solutions to consumer health product packaging and to pioneer the use of alternative materials for healthcare packaging, including using pulp-based alternatives to plastic,” he says, crediting Metsä Board for being “very generous” in sharing their knowledge with Haleon.
It does appear that plastic is making a hasty exit: with 2020 as its baseline, Haleon aims to reduce its use of virgin petroleum-based plastic by 10 per cent by 2025, and by a third by 2030.
What’s more, Haleon is currently developing solutions for all product packaging to be recycle-ready by 2025, as part of its goal to make all packaging recyclable or reusable by 2030. The company is closing in on its targets rather nicely: in 2022, 65 per cent of its packaging was recycle-ready.
Gaining momentum
The most recent news comes from February 2024, as Haleon joined the constituents of S&P’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe for the first time and was recognised as a leader among constituents. Haleon was also added to S&P’s 2024 Global Sustainability Yearbook, a distinction intended to highlight top performers within the index.
A tangible Haleon achievement from last year: the Haleon site in Cape Town in South Africa was the first to achieve water neutrality.
“In addition, we are very much pursuing wind and solar parks to power our operations. Regarding our transport fleet, we are using more e-vehicles, turning away from diesel,” Litwak says.
Tale of two markets
Litwak feels that in some respects, Europe is more progressive in the Green Transition, with the USA following behind somewhat.
“In the States, the volumes and distances are so great that it’s difficult to change things overnight. However, many companies are seeking reductions in their carbon footprints one action at a time.”
What about the end-consumers, then? Are they concerned about issues such as more sustainable packaging? – Litwak replies that the customer feedback is “very supportive” of sustainable solutions – and, indeed, eager to see more of them.
“You only have to visit a local grocery store in the US to see that consumers have become more aware of these issues. They’re now more willing than ever to go out of their way to make a better choice.”
Taking charge
This shift in consumer attitudes encourages industry players to make even bolder moves.
“We’re eager to see new technology and solutions from Metsä Board and our other strategic partners. The sky is really the limit for development.”
Having been with Haleon for nine years, Litwak has seen a powerful wave of change rising across the industry – and he doesn’t expect it to wane any time soon.
“Sustainable products have a strong foothold in the market, which in turn means that you have a lot more options now than you did ten years ago.”