Diageo plans sustainable glass bottle production

Diageo partnered with glass manufacturer Encirc and research and technology body Glass Futures on the project, which used the firm’s Black & White Scotch brand as the test subject. The project saw the use of a waste-based powered furnace to cut the carbon footprint of of the bottle-making process by up to 90%.

The trial produced 173,000 Black & White bottles, also using 100% recycled glass, making the batch the most environmentally-friendly ever produced for a Scotch whisky brand.

Further work now needs to be done to develop and scale the trial for future production, but it represents a significant step forward in our drive to transform the sustainability of our grain-to-glass supply chain.

We have supported Glass Futures from concept and following the success of the trial, Diageo has agreed a 10-year partnership to accelerate collaboration and innovation in the glass industry.

The project is part of the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Energy Innovation Programme, within which Glass Futures is leading a £7.1m initiative to explore the most effective routes to switching glass manufacturing to low carbon fuels.

Diageo’s support for Glass Futures is part of our commitment to transforming packaging sustainability. We recently announced our Society 2030: Spirit of Progress sustainability plan for a decade of action to tackle climate change, which includes ambitious environmental goals such as being net zero emissions from all direct operations by 2030.