As part of a European collaboration with the Carlsberg group (Kronenbourg, Grimbergen, Tuborg...), the French group ExcelRise is deploying R100, a 100 per cent recycled plastic film for Carlsberg multipacks in Sweden. The film will be produced in the factories of Ceisa Packaging, a subsidiary of ExcelRise. This project is part of Together Towards ZERO, a global project led by the Carlsberg Group to reduce its environmental footprint.
Optimum recycling of plastics for the Carlsberg brand
In collaboration with the Carlsberg Group, ExcelRise used R100, a plastic film made from 100% recycled materials, to create the new Carlsberg brand plastic film in Sweden. The latter contains 50 per cent recycled content from post-consumer waste and 50 per cent industrial waste. What is special about this collaboration? The ExcelRise group has committed that the R100 deployed under the Carlsberg brand in Sweden will contain at least 30 per cent recycled content from Carlsberg plants in Europe. The remaining 70 per cent will come from post-industrial or post-consumer waste.
This project illustrates the Carlsberg Group's ongoing efforts to reduce its environmental footprint while optimizing the quality of its products. According to life cycle analysis data provided by CEISA, the R100 has a carbon footprint up to 60 per cent lower than virgin films. "Carlsberg will be one of the first companies to implement 100 per cent recycled plastic film with materials from various Carlsberg breweries in Europe. We are introducing plastic films containing between 50 and 100% recycled plastic to further emphasise the need for recycling and reduce their carbon footprint," says Dirk Friedmann, Senior Category Manager Multipacks, Category Secondary & Tertiary.
R100 plastic films produced by ExcelRise are expected to be introduced in Denmark in early 2019 and in France and other European countries by the end of 2019. This circular loop and 100 per cent waste film project is at the heart of the ExcelRise Group's Reborn 2025 project, which aims to replace 80 per cent of virgin materials with secondary materials.
"We are helping consumers move towards a more sustainable lifestyle by introducing a range of packaging innovations that will minimize the environmental impact of our beers. We are pleased to work with ExcelRise and Ceisa Packaging. Our collaboration has been very fruitful from the initial idea to the implementation. Together, we have overcome many challenges, and we are proud of the result; a high-quality plastic film with a lower carbon footprint that fits perfectly into our sustainability program, Together Towards ZERO," says Nanna Harbo, Senior Packaging Innovation Manager at Carlsberg Group.
ExcelRise also describes the partnership with the Carlsberg Group as a successful and promising alliance in terms of sustainable development:
"With the Carlsberg group, we are deploying a unique circular loop project using the waste from their breweries to make packaging films that are then reused," confirms Arthur Lepage, President of ExcelRise, "We want to become the leader in high recycled content packaging plastic films through our complete control of the value chain," he adds.
This project is directly in line with the recommendations of the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation, of which ExcelRise is a member, regarding the development of upward recycling of plastic waste. The introduction announced by January 2019 of a bonus/malus on the eco-contribution paid by brands to Citeo based on the recycled content will obviously also encourage major brands to use more and more recycled content in their packaging.
