An exclusive partnership between Compass Group sports and entertainment venue business Levy UK + Ireland and sustainable packaging innovator Notpla will see the caterer migrating 75 million items of food to seaweed-based biodegradable packaging over the next three years.
Notpla’s range of Earthshot Prize Winning takeaway packaging will feature across some of the world’s most prestigious sports and entertainment venues.
Keen to show his support for the groundbreaking partnership in-person, Prince William met with Co-Founder of Notpla, Pierre Paslier, and Levy UK + Ireland MD, Jon Davies this week at the Kia Oval to witness Notpla’s fully scaled sustainability solution in action.
Over the coming months, more than 50 other progressive sites will join the Kia Oval in serving up their visitors’ food orders in Notpla’s unique, biodegradable packaging.
Notpla’s novel food packaging shows that the solution to the 14 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans each year may also lie in our ocean, too.
The UK startup uses seaweed - one of nature's most abundant and fastest growing resources - to replicate the qualities of plastics, replacing millions of items of single-use plastic packaging.
With just 9% of all of the plastic ever produced having been recycled and 12 per cent incinerated, the rest lies in landfills or has been dumped into the oceans - thankfully, this milestone partnership is enabling Notpla to drastically scale up the speed at which it can turn back the tides on plastic pollution.
Having developed and brought its solution to the market in 2019, the rise of Notpla’s seaweed-coated food packaging from tens of thousands of units, to now producing tens of millions shows unique and much-needed scale in the production of plastic-alternatives.
They truly recognise the positive effect that they can have in stopping the production of millions of items of plastic packaging and, most importantly, are taking action.
Since the first introduction from Prince William and some early stadium trials, we’ve been so inspired by Levy’s dedication to reducing environmental impact.
That’s something to be optimistic about”.
Jon Davies, Managing Director, Levy UK + Ireland, adds: “Levy UK + Ireland is determined to have a positive voice and demonstrate that by working together we can improve the health of our planet.
Strategic partnerships are key to this success, and working with Notpla, a groundbreaking business, allows us to take another step in removing plastic from consumables and eliminating waste which would otherwise end up in landfills or oceans.
This exclusive partnership means we will find solutions, and be able to look towards the future with hope.”
As a venue specialist business which serves millions of meals a year, Levy can make a positive impact and effect change.
It has already introduced carbon-labeling on its menus to help customers make sustainable choices; banned air freight across all its fruit and vegetables; serves seasonally appropriate menus; and has reduced its carbon emissions by as much as 60 per cent by only serving plant-based desserts across its portfolio.
Crucially for Levy sites, Notpla has been able to validate the positive environmental impact of their seaweed-based packaging.
Life cycle analysis showed an impressive 70% potential CO2e reduction over the conventional packaging previously used, offering the Levy-catered stadiums, racecourses, arenas and event spaces an immediate reduction in their site’s impact on the environment.
With no notable changes to the packaging’s functionality or usage conditions, visitors and catering staff alike can maintain the convenience of single-use packaging.
