Danish brewer Carlsberg has launched a new packaging format that it says will help reduce plastic waste.
The new ‘Snap Pack’ replaces the plastic film that is typically wrapped around a six pack of Carlsberg, instead using a glue to hold the cans together.
Describing the move as a ‘ground-breaking innovation’, the new Snap Pack format will reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76%, the company said.
Sustainability Agenda
“We are working hard to deliver on our ambitious sustainability agenda and to help tackle climate change,” commented Cees ’t Hart, CEO of the Carlsberg Group.
"We always strive to improve and today’s launch clearly shows our ambition to follow in our founder’s footsteps towards a better tomorrow.
“Carlsberg's Snap Pack will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste, and we look forward to giving our consumers better beer experiences with less environmental impact.”
The Snap Pack, Carlsberg says, will reduce plastic waste globally by more than 1,200 tonnes a year; the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags.
The beer giant used the launch to announce a number of other sustainable packaging innovations, including a switch to more sustainable silver inks on its bottle labels; a new coating on refillable glass bottles to extend their lifespan and therefore their environmental footprint; and caps which remove oxygen to make the beer taste fresher for longer.
Together Towards ZERO
The innovations form part of Carlsberg’s Together Towards ZERO sustainability programme.
“Our wildlife is drowning in plastic – and the problem is unfortunately growing considerably,” commented Bo Øksnebjerg, secretary general at WWF Denmark.
“We therefore need to act now. We need less plastic to end up in nature. That is why we consider it huge progress that Carlsberg is now launching solutions that significantly reduce the amount of plastic in its packaging. With these new solutions, Carlsberg has taken the first big steps on the journey towards a more clean and green future.”
To celebrate the launch of the Snap Pack, Carlsberg unveiled its own unique version of Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue made entirely from its new Snap Pack cans.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
