Unilever has made a pledge to halve the amount of new plastic it uses over the next five years and has ramped up its efforts to produce reusable and recyclable packaging.

The consumer goods giant – which owns brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Surf and Dove – said it wants to reduce its use of plastic packaging by over 100,000 tonnes by 2025, according to City AM.

The company currently uses over 700,000 tonnes of virgin plastic – created using raw materials – every year.

Unilever chief executive Alan Jope said: “Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment. We can only eliminate plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical action at all points in the plastic cycle.

“This demands a fundamental rethink in our approach to our packaging and products.

“It requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like re-use and re-fill formats, at an unprecedented speed and intensity.”

The move comes as a host of other businesses have pledged to reduce plastic usage.

Tesco said it will ban brands that use excessive plastic and packaging, while Sainsbury’s pledged to cut its plastic packaging usage in half by 2025.

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