Absolut Vodka scores 50% recycled glass bottles four years early, company exec explains how

22 Feb 2021 --- Absolut Vodka has achieved 50 percent recycled material in its iconic clear glass bottle, four years ahead of schedule. Simultaneously, the company is also trialing the Absolut Paper Bottle in the UK and Sweden. 

Speaking to PackagingInsights, Tina Robertsson, director of sustainable performance at Absolut Vodka, The Absolut Company (Absolut), explains how this internal target was achieved and the company’s future sustainability goals.

The 50 percent milestone for Sweden’s largest food export and user of recycled clear glass arrives four years before the original 2025 target.

“We achieved 50 percent recycled glass through very close collaboration with our partner Ardagh Group through a step-by-step process,” Robertsson says. “We’ve been increasing the amount of recycled material continuously over the years.”

“Through weight reductions, increased use of recycled glass and other measures, we have reduced CO2-emission from glass production by 10 percent in only five years and continue to work toward improving this even further,” adds Anna Schreil, VP of operations at Absolut.

Overcoming clarity challenges
Robertsson adds the company will continue incorporating recycled glass to see how far it can reach, as maintaining the clarity of the glass can be “a bit of a challenge.”

Building on its eco-friendly approach, Absolut Vodka recently transitioned from glass to the Absolut Paper Bottle in the UK and Sweden.“There are two factors. The first is recycled clear glass can have a greenish tint due to impurities in the material. That is why we are increasing the proportion of recycled glass one percent at a time and evaluating the color and quality before continuing the process is key,” she details.

“The second is we can only work as much recycled material as we have access to at the end of the value chain.”

Therefore, the company is pushing limits and increasing the level of recycled glass in the Absolut Vodka bottle.

“It’s important for us to use as much recycled content in our packaging as possible because it is an important part of our circular philosophy and contributes to the reduced use of our finite sources,” Robertsson continues.

“The benefit of recycled glass is that more of our packaging is circular, which optimizes and helps preserve natural resources.” 

Fossil fuel reduction roadmap 
According to Robertsson, Absolut is already on schedule to eliminate all fossil fuels from Absolut Vodka production by its 2025 target.

“We are also working toward Absolut Vodka becoming a completely climate-neutral product by 2030 – which means we don’t just consider the spirit and its materials, we are looking at factors such as transportation, distillation process and packaging.” 

Tina Robertsson, director of sustainable performance at Absolut Vodka, The Absolut Company.These goals are also reflected in the company’s latest sustainability report, published in 2020. The Absolut Vodka distillery uses 60 percent less energy than the average distillery, the company claims.

“We already run one of the world’s most energy-efficient distilleries and our overall sustainability targets remain ambitious. To reach some of our targets, well before the deadline, is very satisfactory,” comments Stephanie Durroux, chairwoman and CEO at Absolut.

A paper bottle future? 
Building on its eco-friendly approach, Absolut Vodka recently transitioned from glass to the Absolut Paper Bottle in the UK and Sweden, after the Paboco bottle prototype was successfully trialed in the UK in the fall of 2020. 

“The Absolut paper bottle is part of our Future of Packaging program, in place to continually improve the sustainability performance of our packaging through materials and design,” Robertsson shares.

“The paper bottle is an incremental journey through which we’re exploring new material alternatives that have the potential to fit into existing recycling streams. So this project is also part of our business pillar of circular making, which is a big priority for us.”

In the same spirit, major players like Coca-Cola in Europe are also trialing paper bottle prototypes. PackagingInsights previously spoke with Michael Michelsen, business development manager at Paboco, to learn more about the “stepwise” technical approach to creating the prototype.

By Kristiana Lalou