Cabot Creamery, a farmer-owned cooperative best known for its superior cheeses, just made a huge announcement in the name of sustainability. Cabot will have shifted to 30% post-consumer recycled packaging of its popular 8-ounce cheese bars by the end of 2024. This change follows Cabot’s commitment to minimizing its impact on the environment while increasing its sustainability as a certified B-Corp.
Innovation Funded by a Grant
This transition to PCR packaging comes after a thorough study that was funded by the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, reviewing several options for sustainable packaging, from compostable to fully recyclable films, to find the best solution for Cabot’s products.
Balancing Sustainability with Quality
The biggest challenge of this study was the quality level that Cabot cheese stands for—very high. So Cabot partnered with TC Transcontinental Packaging to test this new packaging at great length. The following were some critical factors tested:
1) Shelf Life: Freshness of Cheese to Consumers.
2. Packaging Integrity: Protection of the strength of the packaging during transportation.
3) Cheese Quality: Produce consistent texture, flavour, and colour.
4. Consumer Acceptance: Studies on the-Pacific of ensuring that the new packaging would not have any adverse effect on the consumer experience.
PCR Packaging: The Optimized Solution
Thirty Percent PCR Packaging is the preferred solution for the case study. It performed great on the production lines, kept the cheese at the required quality, and was requiring minimal changes in today’s operations. This allows Cabot to make the change with little effort, minimizing interruptions.
Dairy Industry Milestone
This is a giant step towards sustainable packaging in itself by Cabot; it also sets precedence for other potential dairy processors looking to share the same path. This will allow them to encourage other dairy processors to try and reduce their contribution to environmental degradation.
“This is a huge point in our journey to become a greener company by introducing one of the first cheeses in a package made with post-consumer-recycled material,” said CEO David Lynn. “As the first dairy cooperative to achieve B-Corp status, we have a long-held commitment to sustainable practices, and this changeover to PCR packaging in our 8-ounce-bar line represents a major milestone in that commitment.”
Consumer-Driven Change
Sustainability is top of mind for Cabot—and its consumers. As such, this change to PCR packaging is Cabot’s commitment to live up to its commitment toward being more socially and environmentally responsible while bringing consumers the same great-tasting cheese they have grown to love.
Moreover, with 30% PCR packaging, Cabot is reducing new plastic used and the new emissions dedicated to producing it. It is part of a more significant plan to enhance product and operational sustainability.
Future Directions
The Cabot Creamery initiative is just an illustration of how much companies within the context of the dairy industry can adapt to move toward the attainment of sustainability goals. Their efforts in the cooperative are committed to environmental stewardship and continuous maintenance of product quality and consumer satisfaction.
Conclusion
Cabot Creamery set a goal to have a minimum of 30% PCR packaging for all 8-ounce cheese bars by the end of 2024—just another large step in the sustainability direction. Through this move, Cabot has done its homework via diligent, ongoing research, product quality testing, and analysis to ensure that lessening the impact on the environment will not be at the expense of product quality. It is in this leading role that Cabot takes in sustainable ways that permits the dairy industry and others to do the right thing.
Source: Cabot Creamery