This article was originally published on corona.com
London (June 08, 2021) – Corona has become the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint, meaning the brand recovers more plastic from the environment than it releases into the world. This achievement is part of Corona's vision to be a sustainability leader in consumer packaged goods and is the latest in the brand's longtime efforts to help protect the world's oceans and beaches from marine plastic pollution.
Achieving this milestone comes after an extensive external assessment of Corona's global operations against the 3RI Corporate Plastic Stewardship Guidelines by South Pole, a leading climate solutions provider. The assessment measured Corona's remaining plastic usage throughout the brand's products and distribution logistics processes. It also followed the Verra Plastic Waste Reduction Standard to calculate the impact of Corona's mitigation activities, including a major investment in Mexico Recicla, a recycling facility in Mexico. Thanks to these mitigation efforts, Corona now recovers more plastic than its plastic footprint.
"As a brand born at the beach and deeply connected with nature, Corona has a responsibility to do all it can to be an ally to our environment and our oceans," said Felipe Ambra, Global Vice President of Marketing, Corona. "Becoming the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint is the latest in Corona's broader ambition to help protect the world's oceans and beaches from plastic pollution. But we can't do it alone. That's why Corona created Plastic Reality, an augmented reality experience that allows people to see their annual plastic footprint in their own home. Seeing your full years worth of plastic in your living room is truly eye-opening, and hopefully will inspire people to reduce their personal plastic use and their impact on the environment."
Plastic Reality users get an estimate of their annual plastic footprint after answering some basic questions about their consumption habits. That footprint is then visualized through colorful AR pieces of plastic that splash across the user's physical world like seawater washing ashore. From there Plastic Reality opens a virtual portal to a polluted beach paradise that shows how plastic affects nature while prompting users to take action to reduce their plastic footprint. For more information and to try Plastic Reality, visit www.PlasticReality.com.
"Corona is setting a high bar for the industry. Their ongoing product redesign efforts will progressively eliminate the plastic they don't need, and their investment in Mexico Recicla goes well beyond what is required to address their current plastic footprint, the plastic lost to nature. We congratulate Corona for reducing plastic usage, and strengthening collection and recycling infrastructure in Mexico, without which the vision of a circular economy would not be possible," says Irene Hofmeijer, Senior Managing Consultant for Plastics at South Pole.
Corona'' net zero plastic achievement is another step in the brand's long-term journey to eliminate its plastic footprint entirely. The Corona Plastic-Free Challenge looks for passionate entrepreneurs from across the globe to help Corona find new ideas or technologies that can reduce or eliminate more plastic from the supply chain. Additionally, Corona is investing in the redesign of key products. For example, 100% of Corona export volume for cans will soon be free of plastic rings.
"We welcome this first important step by Corona towards the complete removal of plastic from their supply chain," said Richard Hill, CEO of Ocean Generation. "This net zero plastic footprint accreditation demonstrates Corona's recognition of the plastic footprint their products leave on the planet and the series of practical steps they are starting to take in mitigation. We look forward to working with Corona to achieve their ultimate aim of leaving no plastic in nature."
These efforts build on Coronas longstanding commitment to help protect the world's oceans and beaches from plastic pollution. So far, Corona has conducted over 1,400 clean-ups, engaging over 68,000 volunteers, and collecting plastic waste from more than 44 million square meters of beach – for further information see https://protectparadise.com
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Born in Mexico, Corona is the leading beer brand in the country, the most popular Mexican beer worldwide exported to more than 180 countries. Corona Extra was first brewed in 1925 at the Cervecería Modelo in Mexico City. Corona is a pioneer in the beer industry by being the first to use a transparent bottle showcasing its purity and high quality to the world. The artwork found on the bottle is painted, highlighting our commitment to quality in our packaging and our Mexican heritage. No Corona is complete without the lime. Naturally adding character, flavor and refreshment, the lime ritual is an integral part of delivering an experience that is truly unique to Corona. The brand is synonymous with the beach and celebrates time outdoors. It invites people to pause, relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
Corona has an ongoing commitment to plastics. Since its partnership with Parley in 2017 has had great impact, over accomplishing its mission to protect 100 islands before 2020, as well as deploying a constant global clean up effort.
The brand has ambitious sustainability goals outside of plastic too.
Recently, Corona launched 'The barley pack' piloting a new technology that turns barley remains into paper packaging to reduce waste.
More than 60% of Corona's global glass volume in Mexico is returnable, and a recent expansion of this into Germany, the brand has plans to scale up returnable bottle across different regions in the near future and reutilize all its bottles.
South Pole is a leading project developer and provider of global climate solutions, with 500 experts in 18 offices worldwide. South Pole has worked with over 1,000 companies and organizations on their climate and sustainability journeys, helping them reduce their impact on the climate while mitigating risk and creating value. Its expertise covers project finance, climate risk analysis, and the development of environmental commodities, like carbon, plastic and renewable energy credits. South Pole has mobilised climate finance to nearly 1,000 projects responsible for removing, reducing, or avoiding over 100 million tonnes of CO2e to date. For more information, visit www.southpole.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with secondary listings on the Mexico (MEXBOL: ANB) and South Africa (JSE: ANH) stock exchanges and with American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). Our Dream is to bring people together for a better world. Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years. We are committed to building great brands that stand the test of time and to brewing the best beers using the finest natural ingredients. Our diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser®, Corona® and Stella Artois®; multi-country brands Beck's®, Hoegaarden®, Leffe® and Michelob Ultra®; and local champions such as Aguila®, Antarctica®, Bud Light®, Brahma®, Cass®, Castle®, Castle Lite®, Cristal®, Harbin®, Jupiler®, Modelo Especial®, Quilmes®, Victoria®, Sedrin®, and Skol®. Our brewing heritage dates back more than 600 years, spanning continents and generations. From our European roots at the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium. To the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery in St. Louis, US. To the creation of the Castle Brewery in South Africa during the Johannesburg gold rush. To Bohemia, the first brewery in Brazil. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective strengths of approximately 164,000 employees based in nearly 50 countries worldwide. For 2020, AB InBev's reported revenue was 46.8 billion USD (excluding JVs and associates).
Ocean Generation combines a decade-long experience of science and storytelling with the fresh energy of a youth collective. Starting with 'A Plastic Ocean' documentary – praised by Sir David Attenborough as "one of the most important films of our time" – Ocean Generation is now growing an inclusive global movement to tackle Ocean threats.
They are dedicated to building a world where the Ocean is freed from human threats within a generation; to restore a healthy relationship between humanity and the Ocean. "As the first generation to deeply understand Ocean issues, we're also the last generation who can stop them. We are the Ocean Generation."
