Three environmental teams – ClientEarth, Surfrider Basis Europe and Zero Waste France – are submitting a lawsuit towards Danone over its international plastic air pollution at France’s excessive court docket, the Paris Tribunal Judiciaire.
France’s ‘Obligation of Vigilance’ legislation calls for that firms over a sure dimension assess and stop the impacts their operations have on the surroundings and human rights, through a ‘vigilance plan’.
The teams argue that Danone, whose annual gross sales prime greater than €24bn, will not be doing sufficient to cut back its plastic footprint and failing to stay as much as its duties below the legislation.
ClientEarth plastics lawyer Rosa Pritchard stated: “Danone is trudging forward and not using a critical plan to take care of plastics, regardless of clear concern from local weather and well being specialists and shoppers, and a authorized obligation to resist the difficulty.
“It continues to depend on single-use plastic packaging within the hopes that recycling will miraculously take care of the flood of plastics it places available on the market. However recycling is a restricted answer as solely 9% of plastics ever made have been recycled. It’s unrealistic for meals giants like Danone to fake recycling is the silver bullet.
“It’s 2023 and excessive time Danone began implementing correct options corresponding to refill and reuse past a couple of pilots to provide shoppers actual entry to a sustainable mannequin. It must deplastify now.”
Options for decreasing plastic within the meals sector embrace eliminating pointless packaging, rethinking product design and shifting to reusable/refillable packaging fashions.
Pritchard added: “The momentum round plastics litigation has been constructing quick – and it’s solely the start. Firms throughout the plastics worth chain, from fossil fuels firms to shopper items giants and waste administration firms, ought to be on excessive alert.”
In response to the teams, Danone ought to map the impacts its use of plastics has on the surroundings, local weather, well being and human rights from manufacturing to end-of-life; present a whole evaluation of its plastic footprint, together with plastics utilized in producing the merchandise it sells, plastics utilized in logistics and promotions and plastic packaging; and put collectively a ‘deplastification’ plan with quantified and dated goals and act on it.
Danone, which owns well-known manufacturers corresponding to Evian, Volvic and Activia and sells merchandise obtainable in greater than 120 international locations, insisted that it’s dedicated to curbing the issue of plastic air pollution.
A Danone spokesperson commented: “We’re very stunned by this accusation, which we strongly refute. Danone has lengthy been acknowledged as a pioneer in environmental danger administration, and we stay absolutely dedicated and decided to behave responsibly.
“We’re implementing a complete framework of actions aimed toward decreasing using plastic, growing reuse, strengthening assortment and recycling schemes, and growing different supplies. We have now already made vital progress on every of those fronts, significantly on plastic discount.”
The corporate claimed it has reduce plastic -12% at international stage (-60,000 tons) between 2018 and 2021.
“Placing an finish to plastic air pollution can not come from one single firm and requires the mobilization of all gamers, public and industrial, whereas respecting the imperatives of meals security,” the spokesperson added. “Because of this we help the adoption, below the aegis of the United Nations, of a legally binding worldwide treaty.”
The following steps within the court docket case will probably be decided by a choose in an preliminary listening to within the subsequent couple of months.
