Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Danone faces legal action over plastic use and reporting practices

Some environmental groups have taken legal action against French bottled water and dairy group Danone over its plastic use, accusing it on Monday of failing to sufficiently account for all the plastic used along its production cycles.

Danone, the world’s biggest yoghurt maker which also produces infant formula and the popular mineral water brand Evian, said in a statement that it was "very surprised by this accusation which we firmly refute".


The case, brought at a Paris civil court on Monday, comes as a growing number of non-governmental organisations are acting against large companies by using a 2017 French law establishing a "duty of care" along supply chains to avoid harm to human rights and the environment.

But unlike a similar case brought against oil giant TotalEnergies to fight a controversial pipeline project in Africa, environmental group Surfrider and its partners which include Client Earth and Zero Waste France, say they do not want to launch criminal proceedings against Danone.

"We want Danone to re-publish its compulsory duty of care report and specifically account for its plastic use, including a concrete strategy to reduce it," said Antidia Citores, the French spokeswoman for ocean protection campaign group Surfrider Foundation Europe.

She added that Danone so far did not sufficiently account for all the plastic used along its production cycles from agriculture to packaging and was not telling the public how exactly it intends to reduce its use.

It is now up to a judge to decide whether or not to open a lawsuit.

"Danone has long been recognised as a pioneer in environmental risk management", the company said in the statement to Reuters, adding it had brought down its plastic use by 12 per cent between 2018 and 2021.

Danone had announced a goal for 2025 for every piece of its packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.

In October, the company joined other international companies including Nestle in calling on world leaders to toughen the reporting rules for large businesses regarding their impact on nature.

More for you

Sainsbury’s local convenience store outlets
Image from Sainsbury's media
Image from Sainsbury's media

Sainsbury’s extends Aldi price-match campaign to 800 convenience stores

Supermarket Sainsbury’s has become the first grocer to extend its Aldi price-match campaign to its 800 local convenience store outlets.

In a bold move by its boss to win back market share from the German discounter, Britain’s second-largest supermarket chain today (4) has added price matches on 200 daily staples — including milk, chicken, bread and vegetable oil — in its local convenience stores.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glasgow retailer retires after serving community for 44 years

iStock image

iStock image

Glasgow retailer retires after serving community for 44 years

A convenience store owner in Glasgow has retired and handed over the keys after serving the community for 44 years.

The retiring shopkeeper couple, Abdul Haq and his wife Hameedah, have run Disqu Blu convenience store in Glasgow since 1980.

Keep ReadingShow less
innocent drinks, Co-op team up to donate portions of fruit and veg to charity

innocent drinks, Co-op team up to donate portions of fruit and veg to charity

innocent drinks, Europe’s leading healthy drinks company, is announcing a new partnership with Alexandra Rose Charity as it advances its mission to help people live well through the delicious goodness of fruits and vegetables.

Government statistics reveal that just one third of adults, and 12 per cent of 11–18-year-olds, are managing to get the recommended “Five a Day”. This is even starker for lower-income families, with the most deprived fifth of adults consuming 37 per cent less fruit and veg than the least deprived, and their children 29 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Spooktacular’ store POS drives sales, customer engagement for Nisa retailer NP Group

‘Spooktacular’ store POS drives sales, customer engagement for Nisa retailer NP Group

As the final key retail season of the year approaches, Nisa retailer NP Group is gearing up for Christmas with a renewed focus on store activation and point-of-sale (POS) strategy to drive sales following a successful Halloween.

With seasonal shopping trends in full swing, effective in-store activation and visibility are crucial for smaller retailers to capture customer attention and keep up with larger competitors. Data from Retail Economics shows that UK shoppers spent approximately £10 billion on seasonal products in 2023, with Halloween contributing £650 million alone, marking a steady increase in seasonal shopping over recent years.

Keep ReadingShow less