Business

A global scheme for calculating the sustainability of bottled water that could lead to another label appearing on packaging has been launched today (10 April).

Food and drink consultancy Zenith International and independent auditor NSF International are behind the Carbon Action Plan (CAP), launched at the InnoBev Global Soft Drinks Congress in Moscow.

Zenith said the CAP would extend carbon footprints "right up to the shop shelf" and provide sustainability ratings for five main areas, including the amount of renewable energy and the percentage of recycled material used, as well as the amount of water used to make one litre of product.

The extent of a company's carbon reduction in the previous two years and the amount of carbon emissions verified as being offset are also included.

The scheme will first be implemented across the bottled water industry, but pilots are being set up with a group of drinks producers in different countries worldwide. Soft drinks will be the next priority.

CAP chief executive Ian Hall said: "The bottled water industry is leading the way because it is under attack for allegedly damaging the environment. The CAP scheme will enable manufacturers and suppliers to demonstrate their good environmental record, which will have been independently verified by NSF."

Hall added that it would be up to each individual company to decide how they would publicise the CAP scheme, but he expected the UK bottled water industry would want to use a label.

"It's not just another label scheme; consumers will be able to see how brands have reduced their carbon footprint in the context of wider environmental measurements and, without doubt, this will influence their attitudes and behaviour.

"The results could also be used as part of a sales pitch and become a powerful tool in bottled water brands' negotiations with the supply chain and with retailers."

Highland Spring was the first bottled water company to pilot the scheme last October. It completed its first audit at the end of March, which is currently being validated by NSF.

Highland Spring marketing director Sally Stanley said: "Once the data has been validated, I would like to introduce a brand refresh and add a label containing carbon emissions and sustainability data on our packaging from the fourth quarter."

Hall said CAP had received "huge interest" in the scheme, but only revealed that Icelandic Glacial would be the next firm to sign up to the pilot, adding that the first supply chain pilot would be from the packaging industry.