Suntory Beverage and Food Europe Set to Make Their Bottles 100 Percent Sustainable by 2030

In a recent press release, Suntory Beverage and Food Europe (SBFE) set a plan to make their bottles 100 percent sustainable. They are moving away from single-use plastics derived from fossil fuels in its supply chain, with the aim to complete this goal by the year 2030.

Lucozade, Orangina, Ribena, Schweppes and more are some of Europe’s most popular drinks that will be repackaged in bio-sourced plastic. SBFE will embrace existing mechanical recycling processes; this includes Japanese Flake to Preform technology, which is one of the first PET preform manufacturing technologies which recycles PET bottles to make more PET bottles.

“It is our founding promise to coexist with people and nature. Plastic waste is not acceptable – and we are investing to find new and innovative solutions to address this global issue,” said CEO of Suntory Beverage and Food Europe, Peter Harding.

In order to gradually become 100 percent sustainable by 2030, the company will put efforts into becoming 50 percent sustainable in their packaging by 2025. This act falls in line with Suntory’s growing vision of creating a sustainable framework that respects natural resources, trying to use less and produce less.

According to a survey done by Accenture in June 2019, more than half of the consumers prefer sustainable products that are designed and created to be reused and/or recycled. This poll included 6,000 consumers surveyed across 11 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. They found that “while consumers remain primarily focused on quality and price, 83 percent believe it’s important or extremely important for companies to design products that are meant to be reused or recycled.”

Moreover, it is projected that buying more environmentally-friendly products is subject to increase over the next five years. This will cause a shift in the purchasing patterns where more consumers are willing to pay extra for environmentally-friendly products.

In May 2019, a survey conducted with 250 brand owners in the consumer packaged goods industry found that 75 percent of companies will increase their spending on packaging during the year. This is to accommodate consumer demand for quality and convenience when it comes to sustainable packaging.

SBFE has entered a market that is in demand on a large scale. Making packaging 100 percent sustainable is a commitment to preserving the planet. Harding says, “Our priorities are limiting our impact on natural resources, eliminating waste, and reducing our carbon footprint. The changes and innovations we are making are massive…contribut[ing] to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions since sustainable plastic has a lower carbon footprint than making new plastic.”