Castrol Partners With Pulpex To Reduce Its Plastic Footprint

- Castrol and Pulpex are working together to adapt Pulpex's first-of-its-kind paper packaging technology for use with Castrol's products

- Successful adoption of Pulpex technology could substantially reduce Castrol's plastics use and help reduce its product carbon footprint

- In addition, Castrol joins Diageo, PepsiCo, Unilever and GSK Consumer Healthcare in the Pulpex partner consortium

LONDON, May 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Castrol announced today that it will work with Pulpex, an innovator in paper packaging, to design paper bottles for use with Castrol's products.

Pulpex is a first-of-its-kind technology that forms bottles from wood pulp using 100% renewable feedstocks from responsibly managed forests¹. Its paper bottle offers a lower carbon footprint - up to 30% less than PET and glass².

Castrol is the latest company to join the Pulpex partner consortium ? a group of leading global CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies committed to adopting Pulpex paper packaging. Launched in July 2020 as a collaboration between Pilot Lite and Diageo, the consortium includes PepsiCo, Unilever and GSK Consumer Healthcare with other brands poised to follow suit.

Last month Castrol launched its PATH360 strategy³, which aims to deliver a more sustainable future by saving waste, reducing carbon and improving lives.

One of Castrol's aims is to halve its plastic footprint by 2030⁴, and this partnership forms part of its plastic footprint reduction plan.

Castrol is already incorporating recycled plastic into its packs⁵ in the US and is rolling out a new optimised pack design that uses less plastic⁶ and packs better for more efficient logistics. Exploring the use of alternative materials is the next step on the company's plastic reduction journey.

"Castrol is committed to examining the lifecycle of its existing and new products to see how they can be improved, extended, reused or recycled," said A.S. Ramchander, Castrol's chief marketing officer. "We're very excited to be working with Pulpex to explore how their technology, initially designed for the FMCG category, can be developed for lubricants as a replacement for our existing high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles."

According to Ramchander, "Our initial work in adapting the Pulpex 100% PET-free bottle technology for use in oil packaging has been extremely positive. Collaborating with innovation partners such as Pulpex is critical to developing novel solutions in this challenging category and we are delighted to be working with them to achieve our sustainability ambition."

"Our research has shown that our customers and consumers are looking for more sustainable solutions. This technology, if successfully scaled, could help towards reducing Castrol's plastic footprint."

About Castrol: Castrol, one of the world's leading lubricant brands, has a proud heritage of innovation and fueling the dreams of pioneers. Our passion for performance, combined with a philosophy of working in partnership, has enabled Castrol to develop lubricants and greases that have been at the heart of numerous technological feats on land, air, sea and space for over 100 years.

Today, we are driving sustainability and the transition to lower carbon to shape the next 100 years through our PATH360 strategy. To find out more about www.castrol.com/info/castrolpath360

Castrol is part of the BP group and serves customers and consumers in the automotive, marine, industrial and energy sectors. Our branded products are recognized globally for innovation and high performance through our commitment to premium quality and cutting-edge technology.

To find out more about Castrol please visit www.castrol.com

About Pulpex: Pulpex is a collaboration between Pilot Lite and Diageo. Pilot Lite is a pioneer and international leader in venture management with a successful track record helping Fortune 500/FTSE 100 corporates accelerate the commercialization of innovation. Through its Pilot Lite Capital arm, Pilot Lite directly invests in and converts corporate IP into free-standing, revenue-generating businesses. Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO).

For further information about Pulpex please visit www.pulpex.com   

¹ https://www.pulpex.com/about 
² International Journal of Lifecycle Assessment, June 2013
³ www.castrol.com/path360 
⁴ To promote the responsible design and management of plastic packaging along its life-cycle, Castrol defines its plastic footprint as the amount of virgin plastic included in our packaging per litre that isn't recycled. Our baseline is 2019.
⁵ https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/path360/saving-waste.html 
⁶ Vs. 2019 packaging

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