Anheuser Busch Introduces Lower-Carbon Bottle for Beck's UK

Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) introduced a lighter bottle for Beck's and Beck's Blue in the UK. The 275 ml (about 9.29 ounces) Beck's and Beck's Blue bottle is almost 11 percent lighter than the previous version. The lighter bottle will save 2,642 tonnes of glass, the same weight as 200 double-decker buses, the company estimates. In addition, the lighter bottles will mean 1,940 fewer tons of carbon emissions during the manufacturing process in 2013. That is equivalent to the amount of carbon 380 British households use to power their homes each year. The lighter Beck's and Beck's Blue bottles will help AB InBev achieve its goal of becoming the Best Beer Company In a Better World. The company announced its three-year global environmental goals in 2009 to reduce water, energy use and carbon emissions, which it claims in a press release will be met by the end of 2012. The goals include reducing water use by 3.5 hectoliters of water for each hectoliter of production, reducing energy by 10 percent, and reducing carbon by 10 percent. Another goal is to achieve a 99 percent recycling rate. So far, the company has only announced that it more than met its carbon reduction goal by achieving an 11.5 percent reduction. AB InBev will announce its achievements to meet the other goals in the first quarter of 2013.

"Making sure we operate as efficiently as possible and do not waste natural resources helps cut costs," AB InBev proclaims on its website. "So it makes good business sense. But reducing our impact on the environment is also good for the planet and the communities in which we operate."

Beck's and Beck's Blue is not the first lighter bottle the company has introduced. In 2010, AB InBev introduced a lighter bottle for its Stella Artois beer. Stella Artois was the first British alcohol brand to sign up to the Courtauld Commitment, which seeks to reduce the amount of packaging waste in Britain. All AB InBev's UK brands signed up to Phase 2 of the Courtauld Commitment. "At AB InBev UK, we work closely with our partners in the industry to reduce the impact of our operations on the environment," said Inge Plochaet, President, AB InBev UK & Ireland. Plochaet added that the lighter weight Beck's bottles "will make a tangible contribution to this effort and represent another significant step towards realizing our ambition to become the Best Beer Company in a Better World." Image credit: AB InBev UK