Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I today committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from its direct operations and by 30% across its value chain by 2030.
The new interim target is part of its existing commitment to net zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050. All companies within the Suntory Group share the ambitious target.
“To achieve this reduction we will be examining every aspect of our supply chain operations and wider value chain from ingredients in our drinks and materials in manufacturing to fuel in our vehicles and fertiliser on our farms,” said Michelle Norman, director of external affairs and sustainability at Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I.
SBF GB&I, the makers of brands including Ribena and Lucozade, also revealed that it has reduced its carbon footprint by a quarter since 2015, thanks to a new energy and water-efficient bottling line, continued investment in warehousing and operations efficiencies and using increasing amounts of recycled plastic (rPET) in primary packaging.
In 2020, Ribena became the largest UK soft drink brand to use 100% recycled and 100% recyclable plastic bottles. This shift from using virgin plastic made from fossil fuels to rPET reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 79 per cent and builds towards SBF GB&I’s 2030 ambition to move to fully sustainable packaging by 2030.
The manufacturer recently celebrated a year of using 100% purchased renewable electricity at its Gloucestershire and London sites, and is transitioning its fleet over to hybrid vehicles while trialing electric vehicles for its city-centre sales teams.
Suntory Holdings, a global leader in both the alcohol and non-alcohol beverages industry, has also signed the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” campaign, which is led by the Science Based Targets initiative in partnership with the UN Global Compact and the We Mean Business coalition to hold global temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
In addition, Suntory Holdings will start introducing internal carbon pricing to its group companies, helping to accelerate its global fight against climate change.
