Asahi Beverages has unveiled a new sustainability agenda as it uses its significant scale to create a more sustainable future for Australia and New Zealand.

The agenda introduces new targets while incorporating previously announced ones, helping protect our planet and build a more sustainable business.

Asahi Beverages brands, from Cool Ridge water and Schweppes soft drinks to Victoria Bitter and Carlton Dry beer, will be even stronger because of our upgraded sustainability commitments.

The agenda covers climate change, sustainable packaging and the circular economy, supporting local farmers and much more. The full list of targets is here and includes:

• Source 100% of our purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025
• Zero waste to landfill at our manufacturing sites or warehouses by 2030
• Reduce scope 3 CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 and to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We are engaging our suppliers – from farmers to packaging companies to logistics – to help reduce CO2 emissions beyond our own business operations
• All our packaging will be 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025
• Transition to 100% eco-friendly materials for PET Bottles by 2030. Eco friendly means either compostable, bio based or 100% recycled content

Asahi Beverages employs more than 3,500 people across 26 manufacturing and corporate sites in Australia and New Zealand, with employees directly engaged in helping guide how the business achieves its targets through internal “think tanks”.

Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi said:

“Sustainability is core business for Asahi Beverages.

“Many of our brands date back to the 19th century. These targets will help us create an entirely sustainable business so we can continue producing some of Australia and New Zealand’s favourite beverages for the next 200 years and beyond.

“We are determined to do much more than make vague and distant promises that gather dust. That’s why we’ve already made some incredibly important transformative and tangible changes to become more sustainable.

“We want our employees, customers and consumers to know that when they make or buy our products, they’re supporting a more sustainable future for Australia and New Zealand.”

Asahi Beverages has already taken an industry-leading sustainability position. This includes:

• Installing the largest solar project at any Australian brewery in Queensland, helping us achieve our target to source all our electricity from renewable sources by 2025
• Starting beer deliveries via electric truck with Linfox, helping us achieve our target of reducing carbon emissions along our supply chain by 30% by 2030
• Forming a JV to build a PET recycling plant in Albury, NSW that will process the equivalent of around 1 billion plastic bottles and be Australia’s largest when it officially opens in coming months. This will help us achieve our target of developing partnerships to collect and repurpose more plastic for recycling by 2025
• Cool Ridge water now made with 100% recycled PET
• Purchasing 90% of our barley direct from Aussie farmers to better support them financially and encourage sustainable growing practices. This will help us achieve our target of supporting farms to drive best practice land, environment & quality management

Brooke Donnelly, CEO of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), said: “It’s fantastic to see a Member of both APCO and the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island (ANZPAC) Plastics Pact showing strong leadership in such a critical area. Achieving the 2025 National Packaging Targets is one of the most crucial sustainability goals facing the industry in Australia and it is vital that our biggest and most influential companies step up and make sustainable packaging a priority.

“As one of the largest beverage companies in the region, it’s so pleasing to see Asahi Beverages not only making a firm commitment for a sustainable future, but also already rolling out exactly the kind of packaging initiatives we need to see across the industry moving forward.”