Sustainability at Almarai

Packaging design also determines how materials move through end-of-life pathways. Single use formats and multi-layer composites can constrain recyclability and increase reliance on virgin inputs. In contrast, lightweighting, mono material packaging, and recycled content integration can improve recyclability and advance circular material flows. These design decisions shape the material profile of packaging waste and connect directly to the downstream outcomes addressed under Waste Management.

From a business perspective, packaging innovation exposes us to key feedstocks such as polymers, paperboard, and aluminum, which are sensitive to oil and commodity price movements and can increase production expenses and affect operating margins. Circular economy regulations are evolving across the GCC and international markets, with growing focus on recycled content, traceability, and product design. Packaging performance can also influence brand perception and access to sustainability linked finance in markets where disclosure and product stewardship are increasingly scrutinized.

The Packaging Position Statement translates our environmental principles into practical direction for packaging decisions. It guides how we reduce material intensity, limit avoidable waste, and improve circular outcomes through packaging redesign and material substitution. In practice, this approach focuses on removing unnecessary materials, reducing overall packaging use, enabling reuse where feasible, increasing recyclability, and adopting design improvements that make packaging easier to collect and recover over time.

Because packaging circularity depends on infrastructure and value chain participation beyond our sites, we also engage with key partners and national platforms. This includes collaboration with packaging manufacturers, recyclers, and sector stakeholders, as well as alignment with circular economy direction in Saudi Arabia through engagement with the National Center for Waste Management (MWAN), the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), and the National Circular Packaging Committee. We also work with global packaging partners such as SIG and Tetra Pak, with several packaging redesign and material substitution projects under consideration to improve circularity and reduce the environmental footprint of our packaging portfolio.

In dairy, packaging weight reduction and design refinements delivered an estimated 280 metric tons of plastic reduction during the year, including weight reductions in smaller format bottles and adjustments to aseptic PET packaging components. In bakery, packaging specification changes reduced paper use for cupcake packaging, with a total reduction of 347 tons achieved through material optimization and pack redesign. In poultry, we introduced a leak free whole chicken bag in the UAE market to extend shelf life and reduce product wastage.

Alongside implemented changes, additional packaging weight reduction projects have been approved for rollout in 2026. These include further weight reductions in selected aseptic PET bottles and dairy cup formats, with expected annual plastic reductions of approximately 950 metric tons once implemented. In parallel, we continued to improve packaging circularity through the use of recycled materials, with 85% of our cardboard packaging sourced from recycled content in 2025.

We also continued engagement with national initiatives in Saudi Arabia aimed at advancing packaging circularity and supporting the transformation of the packaging economy.

In recognition of World Environment Day 2025, Almarai encouraged site-level initiatives aligned with the global focus on reducing plastic pollution. Activities across teams emphasized practical awareness and everyday actions, such as clean-up drives, waste segregation, and recycling challenges, to encourage more responsible plastic use.