The collaborative builds upon the success of The Coca-Cola Company’s PlantBottle packaging technology, which is partially made from plants and has demonstrated a lower environmental impact when compared to traditional PET plastic bottles. Currently, Heinz licenses the technology from Coca-Cola for select Heinz ketchup bottles in the US and Canada.

The partners formed the new collaborative to support new technologies in an effort to evolve today’s material that is partially made from plants to a solution made entirely from plants. By leveraging the research and development efforts of the founding companies, the PTC is taking the lead to affect positive change across multiple industries.

PTC members are committed to researching and developing commercial solutions for PET plastic made entirely from plants and will aim to drive the development of common methodologies and standards for the use of plant-based plastic including life cycle analyses and universal terminology.

Fossil fuels like oil have significant impacts to the planet’s biodiversity, climate and other natural systems. Sustainably managing our natural resources and finding alternatives to fossil fuels are both business and environmental imperatives. It’s encouraging to see these leading companies use their market influence to reduce dependence on petroleum-based plastics. We hope other companies will follow their lead.

—Erin Simon, Senior Program Officer of Packaging for World Wildlife Fund (WWF)