Drinks trade ranks poorly on new sustainability index

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 10 February, 2020

The drinks industry is lagging behind other business sectors in its approach to sustainability, according to a new report published today.

The trade scored an average of just 4.8 out of 10 across a range of key environmental practices, ranging from energy and emissions to raw materials.

Its highest rating was for packaging, where it scored 6 out of 10, while its lowest was on social impact, where it picked up 3.5.

The report, the Drinks Industry Sustainability Index – Trends Report 2020, is a new initiative from drinks producer and distributor C&C Group in partnership with sustainable research company, Footprint Intelligence.

As well as evaluating the industry’s current standards, the report offers a variety of insights into best-practice processes and possible avenues for the industry to work together to mitigate its environmental impact.

Topics covered include the supply and value chains, brand management, water usage and the trends towards low-alcohol beverages.

Pat Morrissey, operations director at C&C, said: “When we embarked on this project our objectives were clear: to build an accurate picture of sustainability in the sector and to offer insights that would enable businesses up and down the supply and value chains to make more informed decisions.

“I believe this inaugural report represents a solid start towards achieving our ambitious environmental targets, by offering a comprehensive and concise analysis of our current position and setting out a practical roadmap to help guide our industry in tackling the environmental challenges we face.”

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