— By Plasteurope.com correspondent — 

Three environmental organisations have claimed victory after multinational group Danone (Paris; www.danone.com) was forced to spell out the extent of its plastics footprint. The company was compelled to disclose the risks associated with its plastics use and strengthen its policies on sustainability, marking a step towards greater corporate accountability.

Two years ago, environmental groups ClientEarth (London; www.clientearth.org), Surfrider Foundation Europe (Biarritz, France; www.surfrider.org), and Zero Waste France (Paris; www.zerowastefrance.org) brought a lawsuit against Danone, claiming it was not doing enough to cut its global plastics pollution.

The trio had filed a series of legal warnings with Danone and a number of other companies including Nestlé France (Issy-les-Moulineaux; www.nestle.fr) and McDonald’s France (Yvelines; www.mcdonalds.fr) over what they called “inadequately addressing the risks related to the plastics pollution they produce”.

Danone eventually produced a new “vigilance plan”, which is required by French law, covering its activities and those of its sub-contractors and suppliers. However, the green groups were still not satisfied. After a judge ordered a series of mediation meetings where the issues could be thrashed out between the activists and Danone, the company revised its scheme.

Danone will now record updates of the various risks related to the use of plastics in its vigilance plan, strengthen its policies to cut down on the risks associated with its plastics use, publish its plastics footprint, and hold annual meetings with the three environmental groups involved in the legal case between now and 2027.

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Kamila Drzewicka, spokesperson for the NGO coalition, said, “Danone’s updated presentation of the risks associated with the use of plastics, which is included in its vigilance plan, represents a significant step forward.

“For a company like Danone, where the majority of the plastics identified comes from packaging, this involves the development of bulk and reuse solutions. But only a complete and transparent plastics assessment will make it possible to assess the impact of the group’s actions to deplastify,” she added.

Danone, which recently announced revenues of EUR 27.4 bn for 2024, said it had been “delighted to have taken part in an open and transparent discussion with the three NGOs”.

The process had emphasised “how the dialogue has been beneficial and conducive to tackling the complex challenges that require a uniting of all the actors’ and stakeholders’ strengths”, it added.