Packaging is an essential part of our products and performs several functions, such as, protecting the product, marketing the brand and providing information to our consumers. Our choice of materials is influenced by many factors, including the move that some retailers are making towards shelf-ready packaging to reduce handling complexity. Too much packaging leads to unnecessary use of materials, higher carbon emissions and extra cost. Our efforts in this area are focused on reducing material use through lightweighting, reusing containers where possible and increasing recycled content, and working with our customers and other stakeholders.
As a first step, we are seeking to use less packaging material. This has obvious benefits in terms of the raw materials and energy we consume and the financial savings we can make.
As an example of what we are doing, as part of GlassRite, an initiative from the UK Government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), we recently redesigned the European bottle for Miller Genuine Draft, introducing a new look 330ml bottle. Our actions resulted in an 8% reduction in the primary packaging, which has saved more than 1,000 tonnes of glass and reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by around 650 tonnes per year.
“We welcome the recent lightweighting of the UK Miller Genuine Draft bottle…this is good news for reducing packaging and a positive step forward in tackling climate change”
Nicola Jenkin, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), UK
Where possible we also use recycled materials - for example all the cardboard used to package our beer products is made from 100% recycled card.
As well as technical intiatives we take to reduce our packaging and packaging waste we are also looking at practical ways we can reduce our environmental impacts in this area. We have established a cross-functional internal project team to work on this issue. The team has already made a difference through the introduction of re-usable pallets to the business, and improved pack storage for our products that has enabled us to improve the efficiency of our deliveries.