Danone settles duty-of-vigilance lawsuit over plastic use
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Danone settled a French duty-of-vigilance lawsuit brought by environmental groups over its plastic use in February 2025, committing to add plastic risk to its vigilance plan. Brand audits cited in Science Advances record Danone among the top-ranked brands in plastic waste.
What happened
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reported that Danone settled a duty-of-vigilance dispute with environmental groups over plastic in February 2025.
According to the same source, the settlement commits Danone to add plastic risk to its vigilance plan.
Cowger et al. (2024) in Science Advances, drawing on Break Free From Plastic brand audits from 2018 to 2022, recorded Danone at 3% of branded waste.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- SettledDuty-of-vigilance lawsuit against Danone over plasticNot named in the sources reviewed · Civil · Environmental groups (not named in the sources reviewed) → Danone
Environmental groups' duty-of-vigilance lawsuit against Danone over plastic use was settled, with Danone committing to add plastic risk to its vigilance plan. The sources reviewed do not describe a binding reduction target. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the settlement sets a binding plastic reduction target, which court heard the case, or which groups brought it.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Communities and civil society
- France: Danone settles dispute with environmental groups over its plastic usageBusiness & Human Rights Resource Centre · 2025-02
Researchers
- Break Free From Plastic brand audits and Cowger et al. 2024Science Advances · 2024
Connected cases
- Coca-Cola plastic pledges and brand audits United States · 2018
- Break Free From Plastic (NGO) — here: brand audit organisation; there: Brand-audit organiser
- Coca-Cola World Without Waste targets reset Global · 2018–2026
- Break Free From Plastic (NGO) — here: brand audit organisation; there: Brand auditor and critic
- Danone plant in Puebla occupied by people, then cleared by state forces Mexico · 2022
- Danone (Company) — here: defendant; there: owner of the plant occupied in Puebla
- Danone, Unilever and BP scaled back sustainability goals between 2021 and 2025 Global · 2021–2025
- Danone (Company) — here: defendant; there: Company whose chief executive was removed in 2021
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch and The Ocean Cleanup International waters · 2013–2025
- Break Free From Plastic (NGO) — here: brand audit organisation; there: NGO; brand audits and criticism of the Coca-Cola partnership
- Livelihoods Fund mangrove project (Senegal) Senegal · 2009–2026
- Danone (Company) — here: defendant; there: Corporate investor / credit recipient
- New York v PepsiCo and LA County v PepsiCo/Coca-Cola United States · 2024
- Break Free From Plastic (NGO) — here: brand audit organisation; there: Publisher of brand audits
- Plastic credits and Philippines PCX Philippines · 2020–2025
- Break Free From Plastic (NGO) — here: brand audit organisation; there: Author of 'Smoke and Mirrors' (with GAIA)