FDBusiness.com

Already boasting the lightest polybottle portfolio in the industry, Arla Foods UK has now set its sights on reducing the weight of its polybottles by a further 15-20%. Arla’s next phase of lightweighting is directly in line with its plan to build the industry’s first zero carbon billion-litre fresh milk processing facility in Aylesbury in England. As part of the design stage Arla is investigating the best available construction techniques, advanced process technologies and cutting edge renewable energy opportunities and next generation packaging solutions are also being explored.

Slimming down its use of plastic to such an extent will deliver the company a carbon saving of up to 16,000 tonnes, and will see the average weight of its two-pint bottle decrease from 25g to 20g, making them the most environmentally friendly by far.

“We are working closely with our suppliers to achieve this and the initiative is key to our ‘Closer to Nature’ strategy to have the least environmental impact possible,” explains Lars Dalsgaard, supply chain director of Arla Foods UK. “In December we announced that we are targeting a 34% reduction in CO2 emissions from our operations by 2020 and ensuring that we have the most environmentally-sustainable packaging portfolio possible will play a key role in us delivering this target.”

Arla’s packaging lightweighting agenda has seen it reduce its plastic consumption by 1,350 tonnes since 2007.