Baileys to trial paper-based packaging

Ewan Andrew, President – Global Supply Chain & Procurement and Chief Sustainability Officer at Diageo, said: “When it comes to our packaging, we’re taking an approach of progress over perfection, knowing that our packaging will need to evolve along with consumer needs and technological advancements. The consumer is becoming more sustainability savvy, and we believe that we can meet that need using our design and innovation to bring premium products and more sustainable solutions together.”

When it comes to beverages, 68% of consumers want to buy more sustainably, but only 12% do due to barriers including expense, lack of availability, and confusion about what is on offer¹. Diageo is working to close this ‘say-do’ gap for consumers by developing more sustainable and desirable products through innovation and marketing propositions to help consumers to understand the sustainability credentials of the products, including the materials used.

To support this, Diageo has developed and rolled out frameworks across the organisation, including an environmental CLAIMS checklist, based on Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidelines, and life cycle assessment (LCA) tools, ensuring that science, substantiation and creativity are used to communicate clearly to consumers.

Diageo is exploring paper formats across its wider portfolio. The company remains a committed member of the Pulpex consortium and continues to develop and internally test its concept Johnnie Walker paper-based bottle, which is still in the development phase, along with other paper-based bottle concepts.

Alongside this, Diageo is developing a Diageo-designed, spiral-wound paper-based bottle with Don Papa, the super-premium Filipino rum brand. The bottle is in feasibility testing and is expected to be 90% paper-based. The bottle is designed to remove the cardboard gift box around the bottle to give the illusion of a gift box which is, in fact, the whole bottle. This follows Diageo’s announcement in 2022 to start a programme to remove the cardboard gift boxes in its premium scotch portfolio to reduce excess packaging and is being rolled out in a phased approach over the coming years.

Diageo is also looking at other packaging formats to address its sustainability goals. Through Diageo Sustainable Solutions, Diageo is trialling lightweighting its glass bottles using a novel coating developed by EXXERGY. Following a successful first stage, Diageo has invested in the second round of lab testing and will work with supply chain partners Ardagh and Dassault Systèmes to complete this.

In March 2024, Diageo announced the trial of 30,000 bottles of Baileys in an aluminium format across selected airports in Europe (Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Frankfurt), with an anticipated 44% reduction in carbon versus the current glass bottle.

The trials of the new packaging formats support Diageo’s wider 10-year Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) action plan, ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’. Diageo’s packaging contributes one third to its total Scope 3 carbon footprint and the innovative new options contribute towards reducing this.

References

1. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/nudging-customer-behavior-toward-sustainable-choices