That’s the spirit: Packaging tech CEO champions reuse in circular glass economy

17 Jul 2023 --- The most efficient way to manage glass waste is to establish a reuse economy at scale, according to Paul Gabie, CEO at packaging technology company Eco Spirits.

As glass is one of the largest sources of waste and carbon emissions in the spirits and wine industry, the Singapore-based business aims to transition the material from a single-use model to a circular economy focused on reuse. 

Packaging Insights speaks to Gabie about Eco Spirits’ background, mission and closed-loop packaging technology. We also discuss why Gabie believes that reuse – rather than recycling – is the future of the industry and explore the challenges associated with establishing a reuse economy at scale. 

Why is reusable packaging the future of the spirits and wine industry?
Gabie: We are convinced that the future is circular, and reuse is the most effective way to reduce the environmental impact of consumption. In 2020 it was reported that 689 billion units of single-use glass packaging were produced, of which 70 billion were wine and spirits bottles. Many countries have poor rates of recycling, and a lot of this glass goes into landfills. Recycling is also very energy-intensive, while glass is heavy and expensive to transport. Recycling is good, but it is only a partial solution to the problem of single-use glass waste. We think the best way to manage the waste problem is to produce less waste in the first place, and that’s why we are focused on reuse and the circular economy.

How can a reuse economy for glass be established at scale?
Gabie: There is plenty of buzz around the reuse economy. The biggest challenge, however, is finding reuse solutions that can deliver global scale. Eco Spirits estimates the world produces nearly 700 billion units of glass packaging per year, which is a planet-scale problem and opportunity. 

Eco Spirits’ reusable Eco Tote for wine and spirits. Transitioning entire industries from single-use, resource-intensive models to sustainable, resource-efficient solutions is an incredibly complex undertaking. We see this complexity as the biggest barrier to globally scalable impact. Finding truly scalable solutions requires a “whole of society” effort from enterprise, capital investors, governments, civil society and thought leaders.

At Eco Spirits, we are tackling this complexity challenge through our Intelligent Circular roadmap, which is about the full integration of automation, software and data into our circular packaging technology to super-charge safety, cost-effectiveness and scalability. Under this roadmap, we are developing our cloud-based software platform, Circular One, which powers our entire closed-loop system, providing supply-chain traceability, operational and commercial data and insights and enhanced brand security. We believe the answer to truly scaled reuse lies in the incredible power of technical innovation.

What does Eco Spirits stand for and what are its future goals?
Gabie: Eco Spirits was founded in 2018 to develop the world’s first closed-loop packaging technology for premium spirits and wine. The founding team, including myself, all come from a background in bars and spirits distribution, and we could clearly see that single-use glass was one of the industry’s largest sources of waste and carbon emissions.

To date, almost 2,000 bars, restaurants and hotels have adopted the technology, and we expect this to more than double in the next 12 months. We have more than 100 spirit brands using the technology through our Climate Partner Program, with more than 400 on the waiting list. We are also excited about our partnerships with some of the industry’s leading brands and producers, including Pernod Ricard, Diageo and Rémy Cointreau. When industry leaders like these back the transition to sustainable technologies, it is a good thing for the planet.

We have plenty on the horizon. We are in the final stages of preparing to launch our circular wine solution in Australia with Accolade Wines, which will be a major step for our technology platform. Last year, we announced the locations of our first Eco Plants in the US, in California and Florida. We have more states in our US plans and have recently launched closed-loop service in Canada and Denmark. Our technology will be available in 26 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas by the end of the year. Inside venues, spirits and wines are transferred from Eco Tote to serving format using SmartPour technology.

What are the benefits of your low-carbon, low-waste distribution technology? 
Gabie: Our system allows spirits and wines to be transported in bulk from the country of origin to local markets, where they are processed into a fully reusable Eco Tote format for delivery to the on-trade. Once in the venue, spirits and wines are transferred from Eco Tote to serving format using Smart Pour technology. Once empty, Eco Totes are returned to an Eco Plant, where they are sanitized, refilled and sealed. Taken together, the Eco Spirits system fully replaces the traditional single-use glass bottle. 

We are now in a phased rollout of our Circular One cloud-based software platform, which integrates our closed-loop network into an Internet-of-Things platform.

Our Intelligent Circular vision, which is powered by Circular One, will eventually offer the complete fusion of hardware and software to make circular much more secure, scalable and cost-effective. Circular One also gives Eco Spirits the ability to collect and send performance and supply chain data in real-time to and from each partner, leading to improved closed-loop efficiency.

Our closed-loop technology delivers dramatic environmental benefits, including a 95% reduction in single-use packaging waste and a 60-90% reduction in the carbon footprint associated with premium spirits and wine packaging, distribution and disposal. 

By Natalie Schwertheim