Lucozade Ribena Suntory, through its parent company Suntory Beverage and Food Europe (SBFE), has announced a set date and scheme to its plan for tackling plastic waste. The company is well known for making some of the UK and Ireland’s best-loved drinks – including Lucozade Energy, Lucozade Sport, and Ribena. However, its popularity carries the burden of lots of plastic bottles contributing to the plastic pollution crisis.
Fortunately for the planet, the company is beginning to take responsibility for what they put out into the world and has pledged to use 100% sustainable plastic bottles within the decade. It plans to be using only plastic that has been previously used or biosourced (plant-based) to reach its target. In other words, it’s fully moving away from virgin plastic derived from fossil fuels and moving forward until it’s using only sustainable plastic bottles by 2030.
To make sure this happens, it’s accelerating existing efforts and supporting deposit return schemes across the UK. Through this first phase of their efforts, they hope to be able to reach a level of 50% sustainable plastic packaging across primary packaging by 2025.
Mark Aherne, general manager at Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland (LRSI), said:
By 2030, we aim to use only plant-based materials or plastic that has been previously used to make our bottles. Before this, by 2025, we will ensure that all of our packaging will be reusable or recyclable and we will reduce our use of plastic materials where we are able. We are ready and willing to invest the time, resource and money that will be needed to make this vision a reality.
To ensure a smooth transition, the company says it will be embracing existing mechanical recycling processes. It will also be investing in new, innovative technologies like enzymatic recycling and Japanese Flake to Preform processing.
Peter Harding, Suntory Beverage and Food Europe’s chief executive, said:
It is our founding promise to coexist with people and nature. Plastic waste is not acceptable – and we are investing to find new and innovative solutions to address this global issue. Our priorities are limiting our impact on natural resources, eliminating waste, and reducing our carbon footprint.
The changes and innovations we are making are massive. They are set to remove thousands of tons of new plastic made from fossil fuel from our manufacturing operations every year. This will also contribute to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions since sustainable plastic has a lower carbon footprint than making new plastic.
In addition to making all new packaging from recycled plastics or bioplastics, Ribena Suntory Ireland is also making its packaging 100% recyclable to enable bottle-to-bottle recycling. Furthermore, the company is increasing consumer communications and marketing campaigns to encourage recycling and responsible disposal, and it will ensure all packaging is clearly marked to show how it should be recycled.
