New sustainability standard for beverage industry

Bottle blowmolders and closure molders, as well as label extruders/converters, may want to get smart on a new Carbon Action Plan (CAP) launched this spring to provide beverage companies, and their suppliers, with a common worldwide scheme for carbon footprint measurement. Companies wishing to join the CAP Partnership must commit to reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and follow a certification process which defines GHG emissions and produces sustainability ratings for companies, plants, product categories and products. CAP members can use their CAP certified carbon footprint and sustainability ratings in corporate, promotional and PR materials, and may display this information on packaging within the copyrighted CAP label panel design.

Developing the CAP was a joint venture between food and drink industry consultancy, Zenith International Ltd., and food safety and standards organization, NSF International. The CAP is designed to be global and to cover a range of sustainability ratings. The CAP will account for:

-the amount of renewable energy used

-the percentage of recycled material in the packaging

-the number of water liters used to make 1 liter of product

-the extent of a company’s carbon reduction in the previous two years and

-the amount of carbon emissions verified as having been offset.

The Carbon Action Plan will first be implemented across the bottled water industry, with soft drinks the next priority, and the scheme will then be rolled out to other food and drink sectors. A new not-for-profit organization, the Carbon Action Plan Partnership, has been established to monitor and develop the scheme. That link also brings interested processors to an email-able contact sheet.