(Photo: Flexikeg’s reusable flexible keg. Credit: Flexikeg)[/caption] Perrier announced the winners today for the bottled mineral water company’s Next Packaging Movement program challenging nonprofits, startups, and researchers worldwide to develop sustainable and circular solutions.
The program was designed to expand efforts beyond 100% recycled and recyclable packaging, Perrier said. Instead, it aims to support the development of solutions that reimagine packaging from initial sources to end-of-life, with potential for delivering positive environmental and social benefits.
In developing the initiative, Perrier worked closely with the European-based organization SoScience. The brand also says it created a task force made up of environmentalists, entrepreneurs, changemakers, and external leaders in materials sciences to identify the most promising projects and mentor the winners.
Following the call for applications in April 2019, Perrier received approximately 90 submissions from around the world. The applications were evaluated based on factors such as the “breakthrough dimension” of the proposed solution, potential environmental and social benefits, and its ability to scale across the sparkling water market and the broader beverage industry, Perrier said.
“The winning projects address different aspects of the packaging challenge ranging from source materials, alternative solutions beyond the bottle, and packaging end-of-life,” the company said. At the 2020 ChangeNow international summit taking place in Paris, Perrier recognized the following winners:
Biotic: A bio-based and biodegradable plastic produced from agricultural waste that also creates well-paying jobs for women in Africa, where the project is based.
Flexikeg & Perrier: An “ecollaboration” to deliver beverages, including water, in an innovative reusable flexible keg, with the goal of reducing plastic waste and carbon emissions.
PlastiSkul: These microfactories for waste transformation take an integrated approach that mixes low- and high-tech solutions from waste collection to transformation that can be implemented in developing countries with strong social advantages including an education and training program for local entrepreneurs.
Each winner receives technical, operational, and financial support with a minimum of €100,000 (a little over $110,000) per project up to €1 million ($1.1 million) total, according to the beverage brand.
“We hope that with the Next Packaging Movement by Perrier we can contribute to a more sustainable future, leading through bold actions and bringing to market innovative projects,” said Philippe Gallard, international business unit director for Perrier.
