Absolut Vodka set is to become the first global spirits brand to move to a partly hydrogen energy-fired glass furnace for the large-scale production of its iconic bottles.
The company explained that the aforementioned hydrogen initiative is an important milestone for Absolut Vodka, and will help the brand on its mission to becoming completely CO2 neutral by 2030.
Stéphanie Durroux, chief executive officer of the Absolut Company, commented,"The glass manufacturing industry is on a transformative journey, and the world can’t wait for the perfect solution.
"A bold and innovative approach is needed to accelerate radical change that will help solve the significant sustainability challenges that all glassmakers and buyers of glass face."
New Agreement
Absolut highlighted that it has signed an agreement with Ardagh Glass Packaging in Limmared, a subsidiary of Ardagh Group, to use this partly hydrogen-fired furnace (20% green gas) commencing in the second half of 2023.
This means a full-scale change of the continuous production of Absolut bottles for all markets globally.
The hydrogen will be produced onsite at Ardagh by using renewably sourced electricity and would reduce Absolut Vodka’s carbon footprint from glass by 20%, the spirits producer added.
Bo Nilsson, managing director of Ardagh Glass Limmared AB, said, “Our industry needs to be less reliant on fossil fuels and transition at pace to using more green energy.
By investing in this new technology, we are embarking on a journey to reduce the carbon footprint of our glass packaging. There are challenges with such innovation, but we are committed to being an early mover in future-proofing our glass manufacturing operations world-wide."
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more packaging stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
