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Spirited Sustainable Packaging

Spirits company Diageo reports on the state of its “Spirit of Progress 2030” sustainability program, and their global ventures to increase sustainable packaging for their brands.

Johnnie Walker Paper Bottle
Johnnie Walker Paper Bottle
Packaging World/Diageo

“We are very committed to efficient and sustainable production with the highest quality standards,” said Dr. Kirstie McIntyre, Head of Sustainability at Diageo, “producing things that people expect and want, and creating experiences that everybody enjoys.” McIntyre was speaking at the Sustainability in Packaging Europe conference in Barcelona on Wednesday.

A holding company with many spirits brands, including the world's largest Scotch whiskey producer who last year packed 4 billion liters of product, Diageo is “pioneering grain to glass sustainability” with its Spirit of Progress 2030 program. The program includes 25 ‘reduce, source, and reinvent’ goals that are linked to the sustainable development goals from the UN, said McIntyre. About sustainable action, she added, “there will be opportunities for companies who act soon and act quickly.”

Some of Diageo’s goals include:

·      Reaching net zero carbon across operations.

·       Switching sources of direct energy to be 100% renewable.

·       Reducing the company’s supply chain carbon by 50%.

·       Using 30% less water in product production, and by 2026, replenishing more water in water stressed areas than is used in operations.

·       60% of product packaging will be made from recycled material, and 100% of packaging will be widely recyclable.

·       Develop innovative partnerships to help create a more circular economy.

The company also has a platform called sustainable solutions, to entice innovators to work together with Diageo on packaging and environmental issues. “We realize we don't have all the answers,” said McIntyre, “and so we need to work with different sorts of companies - with startups, with creative thinkers, with universities, who will help us to generate the solutions for these sustainable goals that we have.”  Large companies are also invited, she added.

Diageo has strategic elements of packaging design for sustainability, and McIntyre stresses that when it comes to a solution, “there's not one size fits all. There's not one silver bullet.”

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