MILAN - A 29% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for every litre of mineral water bottled, and a 22% cut in the volume of water used over the complete life cycle of the products for every litre bottled. These are the main results in terms of environmental sustainability obtained from 2007 to 2013 by the Sanpellegrino Group which, for world Earth Day, has renewed its commitment.
Global Ecological Footprint
In 2008, the company started using a Life Cycle Assessment tool, the Global Ecological Footprint, to measure the environmental impact caused directly or indirectly by its products through all the phases of their life cycle: from the purchase of the raw materials, to the production process in their bottling plants, to transporting the finished product to customers. The data obtained shows that, between 2007 and 2013, the Sanpellegrino Group, as regards mineral water distributed in Italy, reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 29% for every litre of mineral water bottled. Amalgamating the results over this period, the Group avoided producing 469,280 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to taking 20,000 cars off the road each year for six years, making a total of 120,000 cars.
More efficient production
To obtain this significant result, the company focussed above all on improving the bottling process in its plants, slashing greenhouse gases by the equivalent of 56% for every litre bottled, thanks to optimal management of energy consumption and the use of renewable energy. Then they looked for ways to reduce the environmental impact of packaging: They reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 28% for every litre bottled by reducing the weight of the packaging, increasing the volumes produced in larger packaging formats, by greater efficiency in the production of PET resin by suppliers and an increase in the collection and recycling of plastic, thanks to the Conai/Corepla packaging recovery system.
Water savings
Another important goal achieved was the 22% reduction in the volume of water used over the complete life cycle of the products, for every litre of water bottled. This result can be attributed above all to water saving during bottling through optimisation of the production process and best practice in water saving.
