Arla develops a more sustainable packaging for its skyr buckets

Arla has developed a more sustainable packaging for its skyr buckets.

The new bucket is made with 40 percent less plastic and will ensure a 30 percent CO2 reduction.

The new bucket ensures a saving of 30 percent of Arla’s CO2 emissions for each of the approximately 17 million 1 kilo-skyr buckets that are sold in Arla’s core markets every year. This corresponds to a reduction of 440 tons CO2 on a yearly basis.

To begin with, the new skyr buckets will be available for consumers in five of Arla’s core markets: Denmark, Germany, Sweden, UK and the Netherlands.

Each bucket has sixteen grams less plastic than the former packaging, and the bucket and lid are 100 percent recyclable. This ensures a plastic saving of 40 percent, corresponding to 270 tons of plastic per year.

The reduced plastic is replaced with a cardboard wrapper made from certified cardboard, which originate from responsibly managed forests. The cardboard is easy to separate by the consumers and can be recycled.

Lise Berg Kildemark, Director of Sustainable packaging at Arla, said: “At Arla, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact, and sustainable packaging is a vital part of the solution. Last year we converted more than one billion packaging items to sustainable materials across Europe. With our new skyr buckets we take the next step. We have minimised the use of plastic and reduced use of fossil-based material. This means that we in collaboration with our European consumers can reduce CO2 emission by 30 percent compared to the previous skyr bucket.”

“Using less plastic is a key part of Arla’s packaging strategy. We are constantly looking to reduce our carbon footprint and increase the sustainability of our packaging. And there is no doubt that reducing plastic is a vital aspect to achieve that goal. Therefore, we work closely together with our suppliers, researchers, and customers to find solutions to minimise the use of plastic,” says Lise Berg Kildemark.

 “The perspective for the new skyr bucket is tremendous. Initially, we are replacing the old buckets in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, UK and the Netherlands, saving plastic and CO2. Going forward we will look to use the sustainable bucket in other countries and for other products as well. This packaging is a good example of how we invite our customers and suppliers to be part of the sustainable agenda, where circularity is the common goal.”