Bacardi goes green with new bottles

It’s not all about the bottom line.

Bacardi is crafting bottles that are environmentally-friendly.

One example is the bottle for Bacardi Classic Cocktails. Through creative redesign, it now weighs 30 per cent less than it did just a few years ago. That makes shipping more streamlined, resulting in lower CO2 emissions.

Another example is the Bacardi rum bottle used for the entire line of party drinks, which is made of 100 per cent recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. PET is the same plastic material used for bottled water. It also requires less energy to produce than glass, lowers transportation costs and fuel emissions — and importantly, is safer than traditional glass for on-the-go venues.

“Since glass should not be used around the pool, on a boat or at many public events, we redesigned the Bacardi Party Drinks packaging and were able to reduce the weight by 90 per cent using PET,” said Roger Van Dusen, manager of Global Packaging Development for Bacardi.  

Since 2006, Bacardi has reduced the weight of its packaging by more than 7 per cent. The weight reduction is equivalent to taking 1,100 full truckloads off the road — a significant reduction in the Bacardi carbon footprint. “Sustainability is truly a part of the Bacardi DNA, embedded way back from our founding in Cuba,” adds Van Dusen. “The passion we have is a driving force for our environmental efforts to this day.”