Dr Pepper Snapple Group achieves plastic lightweighting target one year early

Drinks giant Dr Pepper Snapple Group has announced that it has achieved its sustainability target of conserving more than 60m pounds of plastic through lightweighting and packaging redesigns one year early.


Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which owns brands such as 7UP and Schweppes, revealed the news in its recently published 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

The company has reduced PET use by more than 60.7m pounds since 2007, including a 14.5m pound reduction last year. This surpasses its environmental goal of conserving 60m pounds of PET by 2015.

The company stated: “These results will improve even further as we continue to seek opportunities to redesign and lightweight our packages and explore options for incorporating more post-consumer recycled PET into our packaging.

“Our successes in the lightweighting of our packaging continue to drive reductions in the use of PET plastic.”

According to Dr Pepper Snapple, it offers the lightest two-litre bottle in the industry.

Elsewhere, the company also revealed that it achieved its environmental goal of replacing its 60,000 vending machines and coolers with Energy Star-rated equipment.

The company highlighted that it is still working towards its other environmental goals of recycling 90% of its manufacturing solid waste and reducing CO2 from emissions in manufacturing by 10% per gallon of finished product by 2015.

Dr Pepper Snapple chief executive Larry Young welcomed the report. He said: “Our progress has tangible results that are positively impacting customers, consumers, communities, shareholders and our own employees. In advancing our sustainability goals, we’re developing operational excellence that helps drive positive change in our business.

“The mark of a great business is not how you perform during the easy times, but how you deliver results when things are difficult. And Dr Pepper Snapple has continued to win in the marketplace and improve as an organisation.”

Liz Gyekye

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