Baileys pilots aluminium bottles to cut waste and carbon
Irish cream liqueur brand Baileys is trialling aluminium bottles for its 70cl format, touting a significant reduction in weight and carbon savings across the packaging life-cycle.
Published 20th March 2024
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The Diageo-owned brand is debuting the new packaging in duty-free shops at international airports in Europe this month, including Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt International and Copenhagen International.
The bottles will then be available in supermarkets and drinks retailers in Germany this May.
While the current glass bottles used to house 70cl formats of Baileys weigh 454g, the new bottles weigh just 85g.
Due to the reduction in weight and the material change, Baileys is expecting a 44% reduction in the life-cycle carbon footprint of this packaging option.
Moreover, both the glass and the aluminium formats are recyclable but aluminium is touted as infinitely recyclable with no reduction in material quality through each processing cycle. The new bottles do contain a plastic thread on the bottleneck, weighing 4g. The packaging can be placed into household recycling intact.
“As the largest global spirits brand to join the B Corp movement, we are proud to drive our progress in the community with our latest innovation to deliver positive impact,” said Baileys’ global brand director Sarah Blake.
“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.”
Diageo’s overarching corporate sustainability strategy includes a target to reduce packaging weight by 10% this decade and to increase the recycled content in packaging to 60%. Additionally, by 2030, all packaging must be widely recyclable, reusable or compostable.
The strategy also includes a 1.5C-aligned science-based emissions target for indirect (Scope 3) emissions. Diageo has committed to halving absolute Scope 3 emissions by 2030, against a 2020 baseline year.
Because packaging contributes to one-third of the company’s total Scope 3 carbon emissions, innovating to deliver lighter packaging and incorporate different materials will contribute significantly to the delivery of the company’s climate plans.
As retired chemist, I would be somewhat uneasy about the losses in the comparisons recycling processes.
The recycling of aluminium I would expect, to be trickier than the glass, provided that the glass is only of Baileys bottles.
But there could be other considerations.
Correction would not be unwelcome!!!