Cadbury Schweppes PLC has unveiled its environmental strategy designed to transform the company’s manufacturing processes and assets, minimising the use of energy, packaging and water in response to the challenge of climate change. Central to the strategy is the adoption of absolute rather than relative targets for carbon emission reductions - a fundamental shift and a first from the UK food manufacturing industry.

This reinforces the recent moves by a number of retail and service sector companies and adds considerable momentum to the growing consensus for ‘absolute’ measures. Cadbury Schweppes has pledged a 50 per cent reduction of net absolute carbon emissions by 2020 aiming to reduce not just the ‘relative’ energy intensity of its global operations but also its absolute’ carbon emissions through a balanced programme of “saving, switching and, as a last resort, off-setting. In order to focus its strategy, Cadbury Schweppes has set the following targets:
 50 per cent reduction of net absolute carbon emissions by 2020 - with a minimum of 30 per cent from in-company actions 10 per cent reduction in packaging used per tonne of product and 25 per cent in the more highly packaged seasonal and gifting items *Use more environmentally sustainable forms of packaging - aim for 60 per cent biodegradable, with 100 per cent of secondary packaging being recyclable  *All ‘water scarce’ sites to have water reduction programmes in place.

In addition to making its own commitments, the company will be looking to forge alliances and positively influence others within its value chain to put climate change onto the agenda. Starting with its own people, Cadbury Schweppes will be encouraging ‘green activism’ within the company, with employees empowered to take action, press for change and create a culture of environmental consciousness. ‘Purple goes Green’ start-up packs including environmental information and tips about how to ‘take action today’ are being made available to employees to help make a difference.

Having launched its environmental commitments, Cadbury Schweppes hopes to unite the industry, joining forces with peers and partners throughout the supply chain, to reduce the carbon footprint of the food manufacturing sector. Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury Schweppes, said:”We recognise that if we are serious about tackling climate change, we need to be ‘absolutely’ committed. This means re-thinking the way we do business, embedding sustainability into every decision we take.
Not only will this have a strong social and environmental impact but also a positive economic impact too in the longer term.
“However, we realise we cannot minimise the environmental impact of the manufacturing industry alone. We need to work with our people, our peers and partners in our supply chain to reduce the size of our collective carbon footprint - acting as a united force for good”. Dr Sally Uren, Director, Business Programme, Forum for the Future added: “It’s great to see Cadbury Schweppes publicly declare its serious intent to tackle climate change. The food industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s heartening that such a significant brand has committed to taking a leadership position on this issue.”

Cadbury Schweppes’ environmental programme has been in place for around 15 years and corporate responsibility has always been at the heart of our business. By working with government, as well as a range of environmental specialists including Forum for the Future, the Carbon Trust and the Courtauld Commitment has already practically demonstrated its values in action across energy, packaging and water in a number of ways. Examples include:
Energy: In 2005 Cadbury Schweppes switched from coal-fired boilers to natural gas boilers in Bournville, UK. This project reduced the company’s global emissions of greenhouse gasses by 1 per cent The company also invested in new technologies, such as a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Nagoya (Japan). In India, the Induri plant uses “bagasse” or sugar cane, a renewable fuel to provide steam for manufacturing. Some electricity is already supplied from renewable sources - such as the hydro-power that supplies our site at Claremont in Tasmania, solar heating in Karachi (Pakistan) and renewable power in Yonge Street (Canada).

Source: Vanguard