The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new voluntary agreement to help reduce the environmental footprint of the soft drinks sector, and encourage the sustainable use of resources.

The Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap, developed in conjunction with the soft drinks industry, trade associations and WRAP, was launched by Food Minister, David Heath yesterday (1 July), to ‘provide a framework for businesses to improve sustainability as well as their bottom line’.

Fifty percent of ‘major’ soft drinks producers or suppliers, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, PepsiCo and Britvic, have already signed up to the roadmap, with Defra saying it expects a further 25 per cent to sign up ‘by the end of the year’.

Covering the entire soft drinks production process – from sourcing ingredients to recycling packaging – the plan sets a range of objectives for businesses to further improve their use of resources. These include:

• reducing the amount of water used in manufacturing to help limit consumption and save money;
• improving refrigeration to boost energy efficiency;
• using low-carbon fertiliser to reduce the footprint of fruit-based soft drinks by as much as 20 per cent; and
• improving co-operation between manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and waste management companies to improve recyclability and recycling of packaging by consumers.

‘Business success story’

Speaking of the roadmap, Food Minister David Heath said: “The soft drinks sector is a business success story, worth over £14 billion to the UK economy and employing over 12,000 people, so it is vital that we work together to improve the environmental performance of the industry.

“Dealing with resources properly is good for business as well as the environment and will help boost the economy and create jobs.

“Our voluntary agreement is about ensuring every step of the production process is efficient, saves energy and reduces waste.”

Dr Richard Swannell, Director of Design and Waste Prevention at WRAP, added: “The roadmap will help the industry tackle the areas where significant savings can be made along the whole supply chain – enhancing the sustainability of the sector and helping secure its future prosperity.”

He added the Courtauld Commitment and The Federation House Commitment have demonstrated that collaborative voluntary commitments can have ‘real business benefits’.

The Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap has been welcomed by the industry, with Gavin Partington, Director General of the British Soft Drinks Association, saying: “Companies in our sector are among those with ambitious targets to reduce their environmental impact and the sustainability roadmap provides a great opportunity to extend best practice and deliver long-term cost savings.

“We are pleased that companies have already signed up to support the roadmap process, and we look forward to working together to minimise the environmental impact of the sector.”

Reasons for a roadmap

Defra has previously released a report into the reasons for a roadmap, which notes: ‘Whilst the industry has been proactive in its work to minimise its environmental footprint, there is still an opportunity to further this work through improved focus and collaborative action.’

Areas that would benefit from further attention include recycling on the go, designing for recyclability, reducing waste in the supply chain, which WRAP estimates is 9.6 million tonnes, and reducing water use not in product, which can account for as much as 70 per cent of overall water use in soft drinks.

Not everyone is convinced the voluntary agreements favoured by government are the best way to improve sustainability, however, with Beth Stuart, This is Rubbish Research Coordinator, recently noting of waste in the grocery sector: “The food industry has had a chance to get on top of its food waste problem via voluntary agreements like the Courtauld Commitment, but these continue to lack urgency, ambition and uptake across supply chains.”

Read more about the Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap.