Bacardi has announced results from the sustainability goals it set in 2014. In reporting its environmental achievements, the drinks company highlighted significant reductions in water usage, greenhouse gas emissions intensity, and waste.
It also revealed that it has expanded its “Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future” environmental initiative to encompass the company’s entire Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform.
The platform now has additional elements including responsible marketing and responsible drinking, philanthropy and community investment, people, and responsible sourcing.
The company said that these new commitments align Bacardi’s CSR platform with most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Announced in early 2014, Good Spirited set specific goals for Bacardi in sourcing, packaging and operations, to be achieved by 2017 and 2022.
In relation to that, Bacardi revealed that significant reductions have been achieved in greenhouse gas emission (GHG) intensity (-59%) and water usage (-50%), as well as achieving its zero waste-to-landfill targets. As of the end of December 2017, 99.8% of the waste generated from Bacardi operations was diverted from landfill.
In addition, the company’s original sourcing goal to sustainably source 40% of its sugarcane-derived products – used to make Bacardi rums – were not only achieved but more than doubled, the company said.
Bacardi Senior Vice President – Global Operations Jean-Marc Lambert said: “Every Bacardi employee should take pride in what we have achieved to make the world a better, more sustainable place.
“While we are pleased with our almost -60% reduction in GHG intensity and -50% reduction in water usage, we’re not stopping here – we’re working to achieve a net-zero impact throughout the value chain of our world-class brands. Our goal remains to return to the environment at least as much as we take away.”
Note: Bacardi’s work towards sustainability goals will feature prominently in a future edition of Duty Calls, our new series dedicated to travel retail sector CSR initiatives.
