Mondelez International
The name Mondelez might not be as recognizable as Coca-Cola, but its products are almost certainly in your cupboard, fridge, or local vending machine. The Chicago-based company, which was spun off of Kraft Foods in 2012, owns Oreo and Chips Ahoy chips; Philadelphia cream cheese (OK, this one’s not everywhere currently); Ritz, Wheat Thin, and Triscuit crackers; Sour Patch Kids and Toblerone candy; and Halls cough syrup, among others.
Big polluters like Mondelez know they need to show the public they are cleaning up their act. Many of the companies on this list have joined various cleanup consortiums and plastic reduction initiatives, including the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, a high-profile project run jointly by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Program. However, some of these reduction goals are incredibly minimal; Mondelez, for instance, has set a target of reducing just 5% of its overall virgin plastic by 2025.
When asked for comment, a Mondelez spokesperson sent a press release on the company’s recent involvement in an investment fund dedicated to cleaning up ocean plastic.
