Suntory Beverage Food Europe (SBFE) has sets out a roadmap to use fully recycled or plant-based materials across the entire portfolio of products by 2030.
The plan, unveiled 12 Sept, will see the beverage maker fully moving away from fossil fuel-based virgin plastic, through using existing mechanical recycling processes as well as new technologies.
The producer of Lucozade, Orangina, Ribena and TriNa drink brands said it would invest in innovative technologies like enzymatic recycling and Japanese “flake to preform” processing as part of its journey to 100% sustainable products.
Initially, the company will target the incorporation of 50% “sustainable plastic” or rPET across its primary packaging by 2025.
To that end, SBFE said it would increase its support for deposit return schemes across Europe.
“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 Peter Harding, CEO Suntory Beverage and Food Europe.
The new roadmap is in line with the Suntory vision of “growing for good”, which aims to limit impact on natural resources, eliminate waste and reduce carbon footprint.
Suntory has stepped up its sustainability efforts in recent months to address the growing concerns surrounding the environmental impact of plastics.
As part of this, the company joined a consortium led by French cleantech company Carbios and L’Oréal to commercialise an enzymatic technology for the recycling of plastics in April.
The partnership will work towards scaling up a Carbios technology which claims to use highly specific enzymes to recycle “much broader PET plastics and polyester fibres feedstock than other recycling technologies.”