Atlanta, GA—Ubuntoo has released their report Plastic Promises, published in collaboration with data analytics group Brandscrapes Worldwide. The inaugural report was conducted to measure corporate ambition and action on reducing plastic packaging. 

The report allows companies to benchmark their plastic sustainability goals and accomplishments against 176 companies across 17 industries, according to a press release. Organizations successes’ were measured by four goal categories: commitment to virgin plastic reduction; use of recycled content; packaging recyclability; and recovery/collection goals. Each goal was then scored based on the extent of the company’s ambition as well as the action it has taken toward reaching its goals. Ambition and action scores were accumulated into an overall rating.

“In the same way that companies are beginning to understand and own their Scope 3 carbon emissions, companies that use plastic need to see beyond their current understanding of what part of the problem they should own,” said Nina Goodrich, Executive Director of GreenBlue and Director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. “They need to take responsibility beyond the boundaries of what they control directly.”

Data points used to determine the report findings were collected from publicly available sustainability reports of leading corporations, news articles, annual reports, reports to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and press releases.

The report captured several notable findings, including those listed below: 

• Only three of the top 10 plastic packaging sustainability leaders are based in North America
• Packaging recyclability and virgin plastic reduction were the most common goals among companies surveyed 
• The industries with the highest overall Plastic Packaging Score were household products and beverages 
• While 95 companies were classified as high plastic, 30 of them didn’t have any reported plastic sustainability goals 

“It’s one thing to have a plan to be plastic neutral—it’s an entirely different thing to execute on it,” said Venkatesh Kini, Co-founder of Ubuntoo. “Our Plastic Promises report is not just a scoreboard but a tool that allows companies to benchmark their progress toward plastic waste reduction and compare themselves against their industry peers. The report is unique in that it not only reveals which global consumer product companies have made plastic sustainability commitments, but also quantifies their momentum toward achieving their goals.”

Related: Sustainability Packaging: How Committed is Your Brand? Survey: Environment Skeptics Being Replaced by “Glamour Greens” Packaging that Attracts Consumers

Ubuntoo plans to release annual sustainability reports in the areas of plastics, water, climate, and fashion. Plastic Promises is the first in the series. To download the free version of the Plastic Promises report, or to learn more about the in-depth paid version, go here.