Wednesday 12 August 2020

Diageo halves greenhouse gas emissions and hits zero waste to landfill goal

Diageo has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and hit its zero waste to landfill goal.

In doing so, the international drinks giant has hit several of its 2020 targets but notes it has more to do in working towards an entirely sustainable business - it says it has yet to achieve the full improvements it hoped to reach regarding the quality of wastewater it discharges and says it has found reducing the overall weight of our packaging by 15% more difficult than initially expected.

However, the firm saw other successes - it successfully cut emissions from its direct operations by 509,000 metric tonnes since 2007, delivering its commitment to a 50% absolute reduction by 2020, while also decreasing emissions across its total value chain by 33.7%.

More than 99.5% of the business' packaging is now recyclable and it has achieved a 45% recycled content rate in its packaging and reached zero waste to landfill across its supply sites and offices.

Diageo has also delivered on its target for water replenishment in water-stressed areas and achieved a 46% improvement in the efficiency of water use.

Chief Sustainability Officer Ewan Andrew said: “As we close our 2020 targets, we are incredibly proud of the progress we have made and grateful to our employees and selected partners who have helped us deliver transformational progress. Through our programmes, we have made a positive impact on millions of people, in communities all around the world.

“We have been agile and moved quickly to adapt to the global changes around us. We are excited about the decade of action ahead and will continue to lead the way, driven by the knowledge that our future success is intertwined with the success of the living planet around us.”