LONDON — Diageo, makers of Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness, has announced that it has created the world's first ever 100 percent plastic-free paper-based spirits bottle, made entirely from sustainably sourced wood. The bottle will debut with Johnnie Walker, the world's number one Scotch Whisky, in early 2021.
Pulpex Limited has developed a 'first-of-its-kind' scalable paper-based bottle designed and developed to be 100 percent plastic-free and expected to be fully recyclable. The bottle is made from sustainably sourced pulp to meet food-safe standards and will be fully recyclable in standard waste streams. The technology will allow brands to rethink their packaging designs, or move existing designs into paper, whilst not compromising on the existing quality of the product.
"We're proud to have created this world first. We are constantly striving to push the boundaries within sustainable packaging and this bottle has the potential to be truly ground-breaking," said Ewan Andrew, chief sustainability officer at Diageo PLC. "It feels fitting that we should launch it with Johnnie Walker, a brand that has often led the way in innovation throughout its 200 years existence."
Pulpex's technology allows it to produce a variety of plastic-free, single mold bottles that can be used across a range of consumer goods. The packaging has been designed to contain a variety of liquid products and will form part of Diageo's commitment towards Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: 'Responsible Consumption and Production'.
"Innovative solutions and partnerships are critical to driving meaningful progress toward a circular economy," said Simon Lowden, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo. "The Pulpex consortium is well positioned to deliver sustainable packaging at scale and across industries, having impact beyond what any organization could achieve alone. We're proud to be a part of it."
"We believe in tackling plastic waste through innovation and collaboration," said Richard Slater, chief R&D officer at Unilever. "We are going to halve our use of virgin plastic at Unilever, reducing our use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes in the next five years. Joining forces to develop and test paper bottles is an incredibly exciting step forward, and we're delighted to be working together to tackle one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time."
