FDBusiness.com

UK soft drinks manufacturer, Clearly Drinks, has announced that it has reached a key milestone in its environmental strategy, achieving carbon neutral status on its own operations. The business, which is located in Southwick, Sunderland, set out its ambitious plan earlier this year with a view to complete the first stage of its environmental roadmap by 2023 with a clear focus on addressing emissions, water usage and the circular economy. Clearly Drinks is currently on track to meet its goals, already achieving zero waste to landfill, as well as significantly increasing recycling, reducing energy consumption and maintaining an industry-leading water usage ratio.

Clearly Drinks has recently reduced its emissions to an industry-leading 0.14kg CO2 per litre and now offsets the remaining through projects aligned to UN sustainable development goals – offsetting 868 tonnes of CO2 with projects that focus on providing safe water to developing countries and investing in hydroelectric renewable energy. Clearly Drinks has also planted 8,680 native species of trees across the world.

In addition to its carbon neutral status, Clearly Drinks has completed carbon literacy training with all its office staff, meaning as a business it will be accredited carbon literate, helping to reduce its carbon footprint. As the team becomes carbon literate, it will be empowered to recognise common objectives in reducing impact on the climate and feel motivated to support and contribute to organisational objectives that relate to reducing carbon emissions or adapting to the changing climate. Clearly Drinks leaders, managers and board members are now more effective in able to use their influence to mobilise organisational shifts away from fossil fuel dependency and high emissions operations.

Clearly Drinks understands the importance of driving positive industry change, which is why it worked for several years to dedicate itself to responsible manufacturing, allowing the business to make market-leading strides in sustainability and now be in the position of looking for further ways to improve. Key improvements now in the roadmap include reducing 640 tonnes of plastic, finding a recyclable solution for all branded packaging, and working towards reducing energy consumption by six per cent by the end of the year.

Looking to the future, Clearly Drinks has mapped out even greater ambitions for its environmental, social, and governance strategy, with an aim of achieving net zero by 2035. With a commitment to the circular economy, the firm has committed to a 30 per cent reduction in plastic with 50 per cent rPET used in its branded plastic bottles, as well as a two per cent reduction in emissions, all by 2025.

Susanne Wright, Strategy Director at Clearly Drinks, commented: “It’s been hugely important for us as a business to set out our ESG strategy for the future in order to be an environmentally responsible manufacturer and to lead the way in our category. We are incredibly proud to announce our recent carbon neutral and carbon literate status and we know that this is just the start of what we can achieve with the whole business on board.

“We have big plans for Clearly Drinks and have spent time creating a clear and achievable roadmap to help us meet our goals by 2025. We understand that it’s not always about making grandiose statements but about making continuous gradual improvements in order to better ourselves and the industry, which doesn’t just happen overnight.

“We feel strongly that we must all recognise our important role in tackling critical global environmental issues. By doing our part including reducing our emissions, the amount of plastic we use, finding recyclable packaging solutions and educating our industry peers and consumers on the need for change, we can make a real difference in fighting the harmful effects of manufacturing on our environment.”