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Beer in wood clothing

carlsberg

All safety issues aside, it appears timber and beer goes together in ways a thirsty tree cutter on a hot day never envisioned. Source: Forest Expo NZ, Timberbiz

In the context of its participation in a panel on Waste-less Supply at the World Economic Forum in Davos, beer company Carlsberg announced a ground-breaking agreement to develop the world’s first fully biodegradable wood-fibre bottle for beverages.

Carlsberg has initiated a three-year project with packaging company ecoXpac, with the collaboration of Innovation Fund Denmark and the Technical University of Denmark, to develop a biodegradable and bio-based bottle made from sustainably sourced wood-fibre, to be known as the “Green Fibre Bottle”.

All materials used in the bottle, including the cap, will be developed using biobased and biodegradable materials – primarily, sustainably sourced wood fibres –allowing the bottle to be responsibly degraded.

“At Carlsberg we are firm believers in the importance of a circular economy in ensuring sustainable future growth and development on our planet, and today’s announcement is excellent news,” said Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, senior vice president for corporate affairs.

“If the project comes to fruition, as we think it will, it will mark a sea-change in our options for packaging liquids, and will be another important step on our journey towards a circular, zero-waste economy.”

This latest initiative forms part of the Carlsberg Circular Community (CCC), a cooperation between Carlsberg and selected partners whose aim is to pursue a circular, zero-waste economy by using the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) framework when developing and marketing new products.

The CCC currently comprises six founding partners, with two new partners, ecoXpac and 1HQ (a global branding agency). Its goal is to have 15 partners by 2016.

A central element of the Carlsberg Group’s CSR strategy is the integration of corporate responsibility throughout the value chain. Embedding CSR in existing business processes, developing policies to ensure standards, driving collaboration through partnerships and setting global and local targets to improve CSR performance form the cornerstone of this strategic process.

The Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands.

Its flagship brand – Carlsberg – is one of the best-known beer brands in the world and the Baltika, Carlsberg and Tuborg brands are among the eight biggest brands in Europe.