On March 31, 2026, Planet Tracker, a non-profit financial think tank, published a report meant to help investors understand potential litigation risk, and thus investment liability, from per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS). In the authors’ words, the report “helps investors locate PFAS exposure in their portfolios and understand why it can materially affect cash flows, valuations and credit risk.”
To do this, Planet Tracker created a scoring system composed of, (i) legal case histories, (ii) regulatory and permitting data, (iii) independent PFAS emission and exposure datasets, and (iv) corporate disclosures. Over 1,000 publicly listed companies and approximately 5,300 facilities were scored.
“Across the broader universe, the highest composite scores gather in sectors with direct PFAS manufacture and intensive use, including specialty chemicals, fluoropolymer production, firefighting foams and selected segments of textiles, packaging and electronics,” Planet Tracker explained. In food packaging, “a relatively small number of firms account for most high-risk facilities.”
There are no current major class action suits related to food packaging, Planet Tracker writes, but there has been public scrutiny on some fast food chains (e.g., McDonald’s, Burger King).
In addition to the written report, Planet Tracker also published a dashboard where investors or other interested parties can filter by investor portfolio, country, company, and more.
According to the Food Packaging Forum’s Brand and Retailer Initiatives Database (BRID), at least 36 companies, 17 in the US, have made public commitments related to phasing out PFAS in food packaging or processing equipment.
Planet Tracker is not the first organization to argue that sometimes food packaging can pose an investment risk. In 2023, European investors highlighted risks associated with single use plastic packaging (FPF reported) and called for a strong Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in the EU to “provide a regulatory environment in which companies can confidently invest in effective measures to reduce their environmental impact and thus appropriately manage the financial risks to which they – and their investors – are exposed” (FPF reported). The adopted PPWR is applicable from August 12, 2026, and bans single use food packaging on the EU market from having PFAS present above set levels (FPF reported).
Reference
Thalia Bofiliou and Filippo Grassi (March 31, 2026). “PFAS: From non-stick to stuck in court.” Planet Tracker.
