Indicative Carbon Footprints of Different Packaging Variants
World ofHeineken 42 summer 2010
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Returnable bottles Draught beer
cooling processes
transport packaging materials to brewery
beer production
malting
Cans One-way glass
distribution packed beer
production packaging materials
transport malt hops
agriculture malt hops
GREEN INSIDE-OUT
As can be seen in the graph above, of all the
elements in the Total Value Chain, it's the
production of cans and bottles and other
packaging, especially non-returnable items,
that contribute the most to Heineken's
carbon footprint. "And it's not a small margin
either. C02 emissions in this area are three
times the amount produced in the brewing
process," says Paul.
"This is one of three carbon footprint
'hotspots' that we have identified, together
with distribution and cooling. For each of
these, we have a specific working group
that is gathering information about carbon
footprints and identifying ways to improve
them."
One working group is cooperating closely
with key retailers, including the large
supermarket chains: Tesco in Europe, and
Walmart in the US. "They're very pro-active
in this area, so together we're confident
we can make significant improvements. Of
course, we don't manufacture the packing,
cans and bottles ourselves, so we are also
encouraging our suppliers to share our
aims and to be more aware of C02 issues,"
says Paul.
Legislation is also impacting businesses in
this area. "France is about to introduce 'eco
labelling' where a product's carbon footprint
is indicated on the packaging. Heineken is
currently playing an active roll in the process
of establishing an agreed methodology
for calculating a carbon footprint in our
industry. This will become the standard for all
operating companies in Europe."
BREWING A BETTER FUTURE
Heineken has set itself ambitious targets.
Herman is quick to reinforce that "although
there are some places where we must
make relatively large improvements, we
also need to make many small, progressive
improvements in all of our breweries."
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