Nestlé Waters North America Inc. has launched its next-generation Eco-Shape® bottle, which the company says will help it to exceed its goal for plastic reduction, or lightweighting, of its 0.5-L, single-serve bottles by an additional 15% by 2010, as outlined in the company's 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report.
An updated version of the company’s 2007 Eco-Shape bottle—which Nestlé Waters says was among the first branded 0.5-L bottles in the beverage industry to be lightweighted—the next-generation bottle is said to be even lighter. Weighing 9.3 g on average, the bottle contains 60% less plastic than the company's original, pre-Eco-Shape 0.5-L PET bottle, introduced in the mid-1990s.
Using an average of 25% less plastic than its 2007 predecessor, the 9.3-gram bottle is being rolled out for the company’s Poland Spring brand natural spring water, Arrowhead mountain spring water, and Nestlé Pure Life purified water. Nestlé Waters will extend the lighter Eco-Shape bottle to its remaining 0.5-L regional spring water brands, including Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka, and Zephyrhills, beginning in spring 2010. The rollout of additional product sizes will also begin in 2010.
"Bottled water continues to be one of the fastest growing packaged beverages. With about 70 percent of U.S. households drinking bottled water, reducing the plastic in our bottles is one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint," says Andrius Dapkus, director of innovations and renovations at Nestlé Waters. The company's first-generation Eco-Shape bottle is credited with reducing the company’s carbon emission equivalents by more than 356,000 tons, which is equivalent to removing 78,000 cars from the road, since its launch in April 2007.
"The second-generation Eco-Shape bottle is our gold standard for lightweighting and is among the lightest half-liter plastic bottles available in the marketplace today," Dapkus adds. "We've reduced our use of plastic resin by 80 million pounds annually, while also making sure the bottle is durable and appealing for consumers."
In addition to reducing plastic in its bottles, Nestlé Waters continually reviews its secondary packaging materials for reduction opportunities. As a result, the new bottles also feature a cap weighing only 1 g. The company has also eliminated cardboard sidewalls from the majority of its 24-packs of bottled water, its number-one seller.
Carbon footprint-reduction initiatives
Nestlé Waters also says it continues to make progress toward its goals of reducing its carbon footprint on additional fronts, including:
• Operating seven bottling facilities that meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
• Introducing hydrogen fuel cell forklifts and hybrid trucks
• Reducing carbon intensity by 20% across the company's value chain by 2013
• Working with nonprofits, legislators, and communities aiming to improve plastic bottle recycling rates in America to 60% by 2018
• Developing a next-generation bottle made entirely from recycled materials or renewable resources by 2020.
