Google to make product packaging plastic free by 2025

Google announced that all of the new Pixel and Nest products have been designed with recycled material. This means that the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 5 smartphones and the company’s newly launched second-generation Nest smart speaker are made of material that support the company’s environmental goals.

The new Nest Audio, on the other hand, contains 70% recycled plastic across its enclosure parts including the acoustic fabric and it is covered in the same sustainable fabric that we first introduced with Nest Mini last year. (Bloomberg)

Google, last month, announced its climate action plan as a part of which the company said that it would operate carbon-free by 2030. Today, the company updated its climate action plan by introducing new goals and timelines.

Google today announced that it would make all of its product packaging plastic free by 2025. The company also said that it will make all of its product packaging recyclable by the same year. “We'll continue to keep all shipping of Made by Google hardware to and from our direct customers 100 percent carbon neutral. And we want to take things a step further by ensuring that the product box itself is sustainable and recyclable, removing headaches for the recyclers who process it. So by 2025, we're committing to making our product packaging 100 percent plastic free and 100 percent recyclable,” the company wrote in a blog post.

In addition to that, Google announced that all of the new Pixel and Nest products have been designed with recycled material. This means that the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 5 smartphones and the company's newly launched second-generation Nest smart speaker are made of material that support the company's environmental goals.

The company said that the back cover of the recently launched Pixel 5 is made with 100 percent recycled aluminum, which is the company's first phone to incorporate recycled aluminum. This, the company says not only eliminates the use of mined aluminum but it also lowers the carbon footprint of manufacturing the enclosure by 35%.

The new Nest Audio, on the other hand, contains 70% recycled plastic across its enclosure parts including the acoustic fabric and it is covered in the same sustainable fabric that we first introduced with Nest Mini last year. Similarly, the Nest Thermostat uses 75% post-consumer recycled plastic.

Lastly, the company announced that it is committing to using recycled or renewable material in at least 50% of all plastic used across all its hardware products by 2025. “Our new 50 percent commitment raises the bar well beyond industry standards. We hope this is a milestone on the path to a future where we design out waste and pollution and keep materials in use longer,” the company added.