BackAmerica's Beverage Industry Celebrates Earth Day 365 Days A Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Earth Day and every day, American Beverage Association member companies demonstrate their longstanding commitment to our environment through ongoing efforts to further reduce their environmental impact.
“Our industry is constantly working to further reduce its environmental impact, and that commitment is reflected in a number of ways, including innovative recycling efforts, lightweighting our packaging, using hybrid vehicles and constructing energy efficient buildings,” said Susan Neely, ABA president and CEO. “Being environmentally responsible is a continuous effort for our member companies.”
The non-alcoholic beverage industry’s containers are 100 percent recyclable. As an industry, we are also increasing use of post-consumer recycled materials. We support recycling initiatives in communities across the country, which help bring beverage containers full circle. ABA member companies are expanding their delivery fleets to include hybrid vehicles. They are also building new recycling facilities and LEED-certified buildings, providing green jobs for the construction industry.
Some examples of our member companies’ efforts include:
- The Coca-Cola Company has distributed more than 10 billion PlantBottleT packages, the only fully recyclable PET bottle made with up to 30% plant-based material available today. It is estimated the use of PlantBottle packaging has helped save the equivalent annual emissions of more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide since its 2009 launch. The Company is also encouraging recycling, having now placed more than 150,000 recycling bins in the North American marketplace since 2008. In addition, Coca-Cola operates the largest fleet of hybrid electric commercial trucks in North America. And in its recently released Water Stewardship Report, The Coca-Cola Company noted that it has improved water efficiency by 16% since 2012. It is also working to replenish the water it does use through more than 380 community water partnership projects.
- Over the past four years, Dr Pepper Snapple Group has invested resources into aligning and integrating its operations to serve its customers and consumers more efficiently and, as a result, conserve fuel and reduce emissions in transporting products. In fact, as part of the company’s five-year goals, it will increase product shipments per gallon of fuel used by 20 percent. DPS also is replacing 60,000 older vending machines and coolers with EPA Energy Star-rated cold drink equipment that consume approximately 30 percent less energy. In addition, through container lightweighting initiatives, the company will conserve more than 60 million pounds of PET by 2015. In the past year, the company’s new regional manufacturing facility in Victorville, Calif., achieved LEED silver certification and its corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas earned an Energy Star certification. The company also has achieved its goal to recycle 80 percent of manufacturing waste and is now aiming to reach 90 percent by 2015.
- Nestlé Waters North America now has 3.7 million square feet of facility space that has earned LEED certification. This is part of its commitment to reduce carbon intensity by 20 percent across its full value chain by 2013. In fact, the company's new corporate headquarters in Stamford, Conn., achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2011, and includes green features such as a low energy/high efficiency lighting system, low-flow water fixtures in bathrooms, the first Cradle-to-Cradle-certified office chairs, preferred parking spaces for low-emission vehicles and an employee shuttle from the Stamford train station to encourage use of public transportation. Nestlé Waters North America also has achieved a 12 percent total reduction – the equivalent of 260 metric tons – of greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, following the introduction of the company’s first-of-its-kind Eco-Shape half-liter bottle.
- In 2011, PepsiCo announced it had developed the first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources. The 100 percent bio-based “green” bottle is on track to be pilot tested this year and will have a significantly reduced carbon footprint. A recent third-party-validated audit of the bottle’s ‘cradle to grave’ carbon footprint shows the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 52%, when compared to a traditional bottle made from virgin PET. The bottle is 100 percent recyclable and is fully compatible with the recycling system. In addition, Earth Day 2012 marks the two-year anniversary of the PepsiCo Dream Machine recycling initiative. The program, which launched on Earth Day 2010, has diverted nearly 94 million plastic and aluminum beverage containers from landfills and has a presence in 40 states, with 4,000 static bins and electronic kiosks deployed. Additionally, more than 400,000 students are participating at approximately 900 schools in the initiative’s Dream Machine Recycle Rally K-12 schools program. The Dream Machine recycling initiative was created in collaboration with Waste Management and Keep America Beautiful in support of PepsiCo’s goal to help increase beverage container recycling rates to 50 percent by 2018.
For more information on the beverage industry’s environmental stewardship, visit www.ameribev.org.
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The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.
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