70cl aluminium bottles of Diageo’s Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur – said to be five times lighter than the glass alternative and facilitate a 44% carbon reduction – will soon be available to international travellers at select airports.
Compared to the 454g weight of the 70cl glass bottle, the aluminium alternative is measured at 85g. Its bottle neck contains a 4g plastic thread and its cap is made of 2.5g of virgin aluminium.
Initially, Diageo Global Travel has partnered with travel retailer Gebr. Heinemann to make the new bottle available through the Heinemann & Me loyalty programme platform. It will then be sold at Amsterdam Schipol and Frankfurt and Copenhagen’s international airports for an initial trial period; and, in May, it will be released across various German domestic retailers for a limited time.
Diageo anticipates that the new packs will be a step forward in its ten-year ESG action plan, ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’. One third of the company’s Scope 3 carbon footprint is currently attributed to packaging, and the aluminium bottle is hoped to alleviate some of the impact.
The March 2024 release also coincides with B Corp Month, falling in line with Baileys’ certification as a B Corp brand since October 2022. This certification commends the brand’s standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.
“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,” says Sarah Blake, global brand director for Baileys. “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.”
In a related transition, Molton Brown’s Bath & Shower Gel bottle collection has been released in refillable, ‘made-to-last’ aluminium bottles; the move aspires to help consumers shrink their plastic footprints by 63%.
Similarly, Wild’s liquid cosmetics have been made available in a refillable aluminium bottle produced by Morrama. It is designed to shield the bamboo refills inside, protecting them from water and humidity.
Boomerang Water and Ball Corporation’s ‘semi-automated’ bottling system featuring aluminium bottles was also nominated for a Sustainability Award last year in the commercialized Driving the Circular Economy category.
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