Diageo’s efforts to make its packaging more environmentally sustainable have continued with the test launch of aluminium bottles for its Baileys brand.
The spirits giant is selling the bottles through duty-free retailer Heinemann and German grocer REWE.
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From this month, the 70cl bottles will be available through Heinemann’s loyalty programme. Between April and June, the product will go on sale at airports in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. In May, Rewe will stock the bottles for a “limited time only”.
Diageo said it will make “over 30,000” of the aluminium bottles available to buy.
“During this period, we are testing and learning before potentially rolling it out more widely,” a Diageo spokesperson said.
According to Diageo, the aluminium bottles are five times lighter than the traditional glass Baileys bottles “with an anticipated 44% reduction in carbon”.
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By GlobalDataSarah Blake, global brand director for Baileys, said: “While this is an important milestone for Baileys, we know that there is more we can do. We are already looking forward to the delivery of more initiatives as we journey towards our 2030 commitments.”
The spirits giant has a series of targets to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment.
Diageo is aiming to increase the “recycled content” in its packaging to 60%” and reduce the total weight of its packaging by 10%.
The Tanqueray owner also wants to ensure 100% of the plastics it uses “are designed to be widely recyclable, reusable, or compostable in countries where we operate” by 2025
One-third of Diageo’s Scope 3 carbon footprint is generated by packaging.
The aluminium Baileys bottle weighs 85g. The conventional bottle comes in at 454g.
In January, the company said it was providing seed funding to R&D non-profit Glass Futures to aid its expansion into North America and India.
Glass Futures’ research focuses on how to lower the carbon emissions from glass melting, refining and packaging.
The UK-based outfit, set up in 2016, said it will use the funding to establish an international team to “further outreach” in North America and India, Hallam Wheatley, collaboration lead at Glass Futures, said.
In November, Diageo announced plans to run a global pilot with Ecospirits after signing a three-year agreement with the circular-packaging company.
The London-headquartered distiller will use Ecospirits’ reusable packaging for the distribution of its Captain Morgan, Gordon’s and Smirnoff brands to on-premise locations in 18 markets.
In May, last year, the Guinness brand owner provided funding for a new UK consortium that is to build an aluminium recycling and manufacturing plant in the country.
The drink maker had made an undisclosed amount of investment to help set up the British Aluminium Consortium for Advanced Alloys (BACALL).
