Sovena Group
Packaging producers and users
First Year
Key Metrics
Plastic packaging weight
10,652 metric tonnes
Total and/or virgin plastic packaging reduction target
31% virgin and 400t of total reduction compared to 2019
Reusable plastic packaging
Reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging
100
75
50
25
%
Post-consumer recycled content
100
75
50
25
%
* Aligned: in assessing the recyclability of their portfolio this signatory has aligned with the New Plastics Economy 2021 Recycling Rate Survey results and/or the Global Commitment methodology of recyclability ‘in pratice and at scale’. This means their recyclability percentage is comparable to other signatories that also aligned with the above.
Company Details
Description
Production and packaging of vegetable and olive oils
Website
Revenue band (USD)
$1 billion - $10 billion
Headquarters location
Portugal
Regions active
Africa: Eastern Africa, Middle Africa, Southern Africa
America: Northern America, South America
Asia: Eastern Asia, South-eastern Asia, Western Asia
Europe: Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe
Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
Products sold in plastic packaging
Food & nutrition
Reporting details
Data verification/assurance status
No third-party verification or assurance in place
Scope of reported data
Covers full scope of activities
12-month quantitative data time frame
From December 2019 to December 2020
Joined the Global Commitment
February 2021
Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Pact Network membership (as of 18/05/2021)
Not part of any Pacts
Plastic packaging portfolio details
See endnotes for more information on quantitative data
Plastic packaging weight (new packaging)
10,652 metric tonnes
Reused plastic packaging weight
0 metric tonnes
Plastic packaging categories in portfolio
| Type | Category | Proportion |
|---|
| Rigids | PET bottle | 90.3% |
| HDPE bottles | 1.5% | |
| HDPE other rigids | 6.1% |
| Flexible | >A4 mono-materials PE in B2B context | 1.5% |
| <A4 flexibles PP | 0.1% | |
| <A4 multi-material flexibles | 0.2% |
| Other | Industrial plastic (mateial not specified) | 0.3% |
Plastic packaging design assessment
Reusable, recyclable and/or compostable
21.8%
Reusable
0%
Recyclable
21.8%
Compostable
0%
Material sourcing
Virgin fossil-based content
99.4%
Post-consumer recycled content
0.6%
Pre-consumer recycled content
0%
Virgin renewable content
0%
Commitments
Plastic and/or virgin plastic packaging reduction target
2025 target
31% virgin and 400t of total reduction compared to 2019
Plastic packaging weight baseline
11,200 metric tonnes - same scope as the reporting scope
Additional information about the target
We target a total virgin plastic reduction of 3500 tons by 2025 (31%), of which 3100 tons by increasing PCR (28%) and 400 tons by plastic reduction (3%).
Eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Examples of materials / formats / components eliminated or reduced
| Proportion elimated % of weight | Weight eliminated metric tonnes | Quantity eliminated units | Primary means of elimination | Other details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other material | 9 | 71.9 | - | Lightweighting | Reduction of PET bottles weight (PL client) from 23 to 21 g |
| Other pigment/additive | 0.8 | 66.3 | - | Direct elimination | Elimination of pigment in 0,8% of or PET bottles portfolio |
| Other formats | 10 | 935.9 | 28,961,966 | Direct elimination | Here we are considering the elimination of PET bottles and comparing to 2019 |
| Labels/stickers/sleeves | 40 | 1.2 | 26,551,917 | Substitution to paper | Neck sleeves |
| Other component | 6 | 9.3 | - | Direct elimination | Industrial films |
Activities and progress made on elimination
- Reduction of unit weight in some formats
- Elimination of sleeves
- Reduction of industrial film use
Planned actions by 2025
Plastic packaging to be eliminated or reduced
| Proportion elimated % of weight | Weight eliminated metric tonnes | Quantity eliminated | Year Achieved | Other details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film B2B - e.g. pallet wrap | 10-25% | 17 | - | 2025 | - |
| Lids/closures | 100% | 8 | - | 2025 | Eliminate plastic sleeves |
| Other pigment/additive | 25-50% | - | - | 2025 | In yellow and green bottles |
| Undetectable carbon black | 100% | - | - | 2025 | - |
Planned actions on elimination
1) Reduce preform weight across PET bottles portfolio - Goal: Reduce 1,0g PET/bottle - Savings (ton): 290
2) Reduce Caps weight - Goal: Reduce 1,0g PET/cap - Savings (ton): 59
3) Reduce handles weight
4) Eliminate plastic sleeves - Savings (ton): 8
5) Reduce film weight - Goal: Weight reduction up to 10% - Savings (ton): 17
Moving from single-use towards reuse models
Progress made over the reporting period
Share of plastic packaging that is reusable (2020)
Product applications and reuse model types
None reported
Activities and progress made on reuse
Some attempts have been made but without success due to legal obstacles
Planned action by 2025
Product applications and reuse model types to be introduced or expanded
None reported
Other 2025 reuse goals
Piloting reuse models for new products or packaging: 1 pilots
Planned actions on reuse
- The legal obstacles associated to the marketing of edible oils hamper the development of reuse models. We will continue working towards finding a viable solution.
100% reusable, recyclable and/or compostable plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Share of plastic packaging that is reusable, recyclable or compostable (2020)
Actions and progress made to make packaging recyclable or compostable (see previous section for progress on shifting to reusable packaging)
- Pigment reduction in PET bottles
Actions and progress made on collaborating towards increasing recycling and composting rates for plastic packaging
- Collaboration with Sociedade Ponto Verde
- Internal awareness campaigns
- Reinforcement of external campaigns with SPV in Portugal and ECOEMBES in Spain
Additional details on recyclability
Share of plastic packaging that is recyclable (2020)
Alignment with the New Plastics Economy 2021 Recycling Rate Survey results
Yes
Planned actions by 2025
2025 target
100% reusable, recyclable or compostable
Planned actions to make packaging recyclable or compostable
- Increase pigment reduction in bottles and capsules
- Increase material compatibility in packaging
Planned actions on collaborating towards increasing recycling and composting rates for plastic packaging
- Continue internal and external awareness-raising initiatives
Increasing post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Level of post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging (2020)
Activities and progress made on post-consumer recycled content
- Incorporation of 20% RPET in Oliveira da Serra and FULA (we accomplished what we planned - 20% by 2021)
- Incorporation of 25% of RPET in two key European customers private labels
Planned actions by 2025
2025 post-consumer recycled content target
28%
Planned actions to increase post-consumer recycled content
1) Introduce RPET on our own brand bottles - 2020/2021: Introduce 20% R-PET in SOVENA brands - 2022/2023: Introduce 50% R-Pet in SOVENA brands - Goal: 50% of R_PET in all Sovena brands 2) Introduce RPET on clients' brands bottles - 2020/2021: Introduce R-PET in clients' brands according with demand + Incorporate up to 20% of R-PET in key European customers - 2022/2023: Promote the incorporation of up to 50% of R-PET in SOVENA's PL clients - 2024/2025: Promote the incorporation up to 50% of R-PET in SOVENA's PL clients - Goal: 30% of R-PET in PL clients RPET Total (ton): 3 150
Investments
Total invested/committed over the reporting period towards achieving the commitments
None reported
Additional details on investments
Costs associated with the incorporation of RPET in our bottles; Projects with suppliers in order to develop packaging sustainable solutions (weight reduction and reuse models).