Kraft Foods continues to make news with impressive progress around a number of sustainability initiatives (see Kraft Multi-Year Transportation Initiative Shows Green Power of Being Green and Kraft Re-Engineers Manufacturing Processes to Dramatically Reduce Water Usage).

In addition to those efforts, Kraft last week said it has reduced 150 million pounds of packaging materials from its supply chain since 2005, reaching the goal it had set in that area two years ahead of schedule.

The Green Supply Chain Says: Oscar Mayer Deli Creations packaging  was redesigned with 30 percent less paperboard. What Do You Say? Click Here to Send Us Your Comments Click Here to See Reader Feedback

"Our global team of employees is doing a phenomenal job creating opportunities to reduce packaging material while assuring convenience and safety," said Jean Spence, executive vice president of Kraft's research, development and quality division, in a news release

Spence said the company's success has been aided by development of a new technology tool that helps the company create more efficient packaging designs. Kraft also is finding more sustainable source materials, she said.

Exemplifying this initiative among Kraft's U.S. operations is Oscar Mayer Deli Creations packaging, which was redesigned with 30 percent less paperboard. That change is expected to keep 1.2 million pounds of packaging out of landfills each year. Meanwhile, the company said consumers like the new package because it's smaller, convenient and takes up less shelf space while offering the same amount of product.

Like all business, Kraft has some challenges in going Green. In a recent interview, Roger Zellner, director of sustainability for the research, development and quality at Kraft, said that the company is very interested in bioplastics and biotechnology for packaging, and that he believes use of “alternative materials like these will certainly grow.”

However, Kraft will have to overcome current performance issues of these materials in some product lines “in terms of some of our distribution needs and our oxygen and moisture barrier requirement,” he said.

Kraft says that is recycles 90 percent of its global manufacturing waste, and that it has partnered with Recycle Bank, a company that rewards consumers for recycling. The effort has helped people recycle more than 400,000 tons of material.

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