Danone has developed a new water sustainability strategy. Called We Act For Water, the initiative brings together Danone water brands including Evian, Volvic, Aqua and Bonafont to focus on responsible packaging, climate neutrality, watershed preservation and global access to safe drinking water.
We Act For Water will also support brand activism. For example, Danone plans to halve the amount of virgin plastics used by its water brands, reaching 50 per cent recycled PET (rPET) use worldwide and 100 per cent across Europe in 2025.
“We need to act today to address our most pressing challenges,” said Danone’s executive vice-president for Waters, Henri Bruxelles. “That’s what We Act For Water is about – taking urgent action, making and meeting ambitious objectives and transforming our business to be even more open. We need to be part of the solution and we’re determined to act together for water.”
Plans for this year include ensuring that all Volvic’s products in Germany, all Evian and Volvic small formats in France and Evian on-the-go products in the UK will be made from 100 per cent rPET. We Act For Water brands will also launch new, larger formats (above 5l), which reduce the usage of plastics per liter by 20-40 per cent and are made with 100 per cent rPET.
The initiative has been welcomed by environmental groups.“By taking a systemic approach, Danone’s We Act For Water strategy, which includes investments in reducing the use of virgin plastics in packaging, biodiversity preservation, and shifting to renewable energy, puts the circular economy into action,” explained Andrew Morlet, chief executive of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Morlet added that “integrating elements such as carbon neutrality targets and increased use of recycled materials into its business plan will further strengthen the business case for the transition to a circular economy. We are pleased to see Danone taking the lead by seeking to transform its business in this way.”