A robust and standardized framework for reuse measurement is needed. Here’s why

We can no longer rely on recycling alone to solve the plastic waste crisis. A systemic shift away from single-use towards reuse models of consumption is an integral part of the reduce-reuse-recycle agenda.

Only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, with an effective recycling rate of approximately 2% globally. Reusable packaging, designed to be used several times, is necessary to reduce total virgin material consumption, emissions and waste generation by keeping resources in circulation.

Measurement and reporting is a significant barrier to scaling reuse models of consumption. There are currently no standardized and tested metrics to track progress on reuse, which is critical for companies to fully understand the economic, consumer and environmental benefits of reusable business models. Organizations still tend to operate in siloes, using different reuse metrics and calculation methodologies. Standardization of reuse metrics across industry, government and standard-setting institutions will accelerate the systemic shift toward reuse models.

A standardized framework for reuse measurement is particularly important now, amid growing momentum from the private and public sectors on circularity. For example, Coca-Cola announced an industry-leading reuse target earlier this year, and other global companies are expected to announce their own reuse commitments soon. In parallel, the European Union has been revising, and will release an updated version, of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) this November, including recommendations on reuse targets, measurement and reporting.

The World Economic Forum’s Consumers Beyond Waste (CBW) initiative aims to define robust and standardized reuse metrics that support companies in their transition to circular business models. As a multistakeholder initiative hosted by the Forum’s Future of Consumption Platform, in collaboration with Kearney, it has convened a coalition of leading private and public stakeholders across the value chain, comprising Amcor, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Walmart, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This core community has been building a comprehensive measurement and reporting framework for businesses to track progress towards reusable models of consumption, focused on primary plastic packaging — such as consumer-facing plastic packaging — in the consumer goods and retail sector.

Over the last six months, the coalition has prioritized two reuse metrics: % of portfolio reuse and share of volume or product units. % of portfolio reuse measures reuse by efficiency, focusing on the total number of loops a packaging unit achieves over the course of its lifetime. Share of volume or product units measures reuse by volume of litres of beverage, kilos of food or kilos of personal care/home care products designed or developed to be reused – e.g., volume that is reusable.

Consumer goods and retail, corporate stakeholders of this coalition have preliminarily committed to pilot one or both of the prioritized reuse metrics across a subset of product categories and markets during 2023. In parallel, the coalition’s NGOs have committed to engaging with corporate stakeholders to provide feedback on the piloting process, outcomes, and next steps. This piloting period is an opportunity for the coalition to work together to share lessons learned and challenges encountered and to test and iterate metrics as needed (e.g., defining sector-specific measurement considerations). It does not represent a final recommendation or binding commitment to track the two reuse metrics in the future.

The Consumers Beyond Waste initiative and its coalition are aligned on a path forward composed of three phases over the next two years.

In phase one, the coalition will collectively define pilot detail (e.g., structure, reporting requirements, capabilities and tools, and collaboration models) during H2 2022. This detail will serve as strategic input for corporate stakeholders to pilot prioritized reuse metrics in 2023.

Phase two will see the coalition’s consumer goods and retail stakeholders pilot one or both prioritized metrics across a subset of product categories and markets in 2023, to test and iterate before rolling out the approach more broadly. Consumers Beyond Waste and the wider coalition will provide input and support to consumer goods and retail stakeholders during this phase.

In phase three, assuming positive pilot results, the coalition will engage in further discussions to decide whether to formally recommend prioritized reuse metrics to inform government policies, regulations and standards.

For further reading on this topic, please access this high-level briefing paper here. If you are a consumer goods or retail company wishing to join the coalition and pilot prioritized reuse metrics in 2023, please get in touch with the Consumers Beyond Waste initiative team here.