Associated British Foods, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Proctor and Gamble are among the latest batch of high profile UK companies to sign up to the Courtauld Commitment. Elsewhere, Barratt Developments and Hanson UK have signed up to the Halving Waste to Landfill scheme.

Both programmes are run by WRAP – they are voluntary agreements which aim to help and encourage companies to reduce waste and improve overall environmental impact.

Including the new signatories, the number of UK companies now supporting the Courtauld Commitment is 48, including all of the major grocery retailers.

“One of the biggest challenges society faces over the next decade is reducing the environmental impact of the things we buy and build,” said Liz Godwin, chief executive of WRAP. “These responsibility deals bring about changes which deliver both commercial and environment benefits.”