Our local Carlsberg and Aldaris brand teams, together with the Brewers’ Union, has been instrumental in the development of the scheme as a founding member of the Latvian deposit packaging operators’ alliance. We shared learnings from deposit return schemes already established in Lithuania and Estonia, provided support for supply chain and logistics solutions, and were part of the working groups that created the system for the deposit return scheme that was then approved by the Latvian government.
Return rates for Aldaris refillable bottles have significantly increased from 36% in 2021 to an average of 66% in 2022 – and reached 100% in some months once it became mandatory for retailers to sell bottles with the label advertising the deposit scheme.
Soon, music and sports enthusiasts in Switzerland will be drinking beer from renewable, compostable wooden cups.
Our cans are getting lighter and so is their environmental footprint. Over the last three years, we have worked with Ball to cut the weight of our most common can formats by around 5% in more than ten European markets. This lightweighting is shrinking our value chain carbon footprint by around 5,000 tonnes per year.
As we look for more ways to reach ZERO Packaging Waste in our operations, Carlsberg Poland started trialling a new multipack format in 2024. It is designed to reduce the need for shrink film on pallets transporting our beverages.