HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In continuation of its ongoing sustainability efforts, Bacardi Limited is proud to announce the recipients of its 5th annual Bacardi Limited Good Spirited Awards. Launched in 2014, the awards recognize the employees, teams and facilities across the company’s global network that developed the best environmental programs across five different categories: Production Facility, Brand Innovation, Sustainable Office, Green Champions or Partnerships. This year’s winners instituted programs to shift to renewable energy, reduce water use and waste, increase recycling efforts and amplify the Bacardi Limited No Straws campaign to decrease the amount of single-use plastic straws by one billion over the next two years. The awards acknowledge activities that took place between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019.
“Bacardi Limited’s Good Spirited Awards truly underscore the company’s foundation and support of global environmental sustainability efforts at our facilities and in our communities,” says Rick Wilson, Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for Bacardi Limited. “It brings great pride to not only be a part of a company that is actively working towards its goal of net-zero impact, but also to see the immense effort our global colleagues have put into improving the environment for future generations to come.”
The Bacardi Limited Good Spirited initiatives provide the company with immediate and actionable plans to facilitate long-term environmental improvements across operations, global packaging and responsible sourcing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use. Thirteen years ago, Bacardi Limited began tracking its global impact on the environment to reach its net-zero impact goal, which means that it aims to put back into the environment at least as much as it takes away.
The Bacardi Limited Good Spirited Award winners are:
Arandas/Tultitlán, Mexico, Green Energy – Production Facility – Winner: Bacardi in Mexico guaranteed that electrical consumption in Arandas and Tultitlán facilities come from 100% renewable resources, specifically from wind farms. With the supply of electricity from renewable sources, the two facilities eliminated their indirect CO2 emissions, avoiding the emission of 2,795 tons of CO2, equivalent to the emissions generated by 417 compact cars for one year. Bacardi in Mexico has been known as an example of environmental leadership. In 2015, the Arandas facility installed a biomass boiler achieving a reduction of more than 80% of CO2 emissions. Now in 2019, Bacardi in Mexico is proud to report that 100% of indirect CO2 emissions were eliminated by using renewable electricity.
Hacienda PATRÓN, Mexico, Water Reuse – Production Facility – Honorable Mention: Hacienda PATRÓN dedicated their efforts to the reuse of water. Initiating smarter practices across four platforms, tequila production, liquors production, garden maintenance, and treatment wastewater, the team was able to reuse 10,108 cubic meters of water in the last year.
Tultitlán, Mexico, EcoLabeling – Brand Innovation or Activity – Winner: The Tultitlán team assured 100% of cardboard materials generated at the facility were recycled as part of their commitment to the sustainability of their operations and the minimization of their environmental footprint. The facility recycled 463,640Kg of cardboard, earning the Mariposa Monarca eco-label – which identifies a product or organization compliant with environmental standards.
MARTINI Royale Ready-to-Serve Weight Reduction – Brand Innovation or Activity – Honorable Mention: By working on slight changes on diameter and neck profile not visible to the final customer, the MARTINI team at the home of the brand in Pessione, Italy, team significantly decreased the weight of a new bottle design for the MARTINI Royale Ready-to-Serve (RTS). The weight reduction signifies less energy required to produce and transport the containers from the manufacturer then to the consumer.
Meyrin, Switzerland – Sustainable Office – Winner: Driven by the Green Team in Geneva, office enhancements set the standard to make a positive impact on the environment. Among actions including LED tube installation, temperature set point reduction, and no more usage of plastic cups office-wide, the car sharing program for commuters to both the Geneva office and to the Pessione site in Italy, reigned the most visible and impactful.
Escazú, Costa Rica – Sustainable Office – Honorable Mention: Through a well-executed recycling campaign, more than 100 employees in the Costa Rica office participated in waste reduction programs. An employee team of social responsibility advocates joined forces with the local government, to give training workshops on the environmental impact of waste. Training included teaching employees the types of classification that recyclable materials have, as well as raising awareness of the environmental consequences of one-time packaging. The campaign collected hundreds of aluminum cans, tetra packs, plastic bottles and glass bottles.
Andrea Ferrera, Pessione, Italy – Green Champions – Winner: This past year, the Pessione Operations Center in Italy over delivered its environmental targets under direct responsibility of Andrea Ferrera, environment and facility manager. Andrea is instrumental not only in closely monitoring performance along the year but also in managing breakthrough projects installing new features and systems improving the overall operation of the facility.
Tultitlán, Mexico – Green Champions – Honorable Mention: As part of an environmental protection commitment, the project team designed a way to reduce and reuse waste during reception of raw materials and finished goods shipping. Streamlining the strategy to optimize cardboard use in new packaging operations, they were able to reduce waste of more than 5,000 pieces of material by reusing the same quantity to ship the product.
China No Straws & Lonely Whale – Partnership – Winner: The Future Doesn’t Suck, a global collaboration between Bacardi Limited and the award-winning non-profit organization Lonely Whale, was first introduced to the China market last September to support the global goal of reducing single-use plastic straws by one billion by 2020. Within a month, this China No Straws campaign had nearly 6.35 million impressions and successfully onboarded large hotel chains and restaurants to the movement. This No Straws campaign also won the first Sustainability Year presented at The DRiNK Magazine Bar Awards 2018.
MARTINI Operations Center & MAIDER – Partnership – Honorable Mention (tie): The MARTINI Operations Center collaborated with MAIDER IBC, the leading individual bulk container reconditioner, to manager and recycle used individual bulk containers. The agreement ushers in favorable results in waste reduction, recycling, cost reduction, and sustainability.
Cataño & Wildlife Habitat Council – Partnership – Honorable Mention (tie): In September 2018, Bacardi Corporation achieved the Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Certification – making it the first organization in Puerto Rico to achieve this status. A Bats Conservation Awareness project consisted of educating employees and visitors about bats and their contribution to the environment. The initiative also marked the beginning of the Bacardi facility’s ongoing restoration of the natural forest area near the front of the campus, which is now home to four of the eight bat houses on property. The reforestation efforts will enhance the area’s value to birds, bats and other wildlife on site.
The efforts of Bacardi people are closely aligned to the company’s environmental goal which is to return to the environment at least as much as we take away. The company has set targets for 2025 (measured against a 2015 baseline) to reduce water consumed by 25%; to replenish 50% of water incorporated into the final product; and to reduce absolute GHG emissions by 50% and to reduce absolute value chain GHG emissions by 20% (both targets approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative). In addition, Bacardi has committed to zero-waste-to-landfill at all manufacturing sites by 2022, a focus on eliminating single-use plastic straws and developing single-use plastic reduction across operations and supply chain.
To learn more about Bacardi Limited and its “Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future” environmental initiative across the entire Bacardi Limited family of premium spirits and wine brands, visit http://www.bacardilimited.com/good-spirited.
About Bacardi Limited
Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, produces and markets internationally recognized spirits and wines. The Bacardi Limited brand portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, GREY GOOSE® vodka, PATRÓN® tequila, DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON’S® Scotch whisky, ST-GERMAIN® elderflower liqueur, and ERISTOFF® vodka.
Founded more than 157 years ago, in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, family-owned Bacardi Limited currently employs more than 7,000, operates more than 20 production facilities, including bottling, distilling and manufacturing sites in 11 countries, and sells its brands in more than 170 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit www.bacardilimited.com or follow us on Twitter @BacardiLimited or Instagram @BacardiLimited1862.
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