€2m investment in Newcastle West underpins Ballygowan’s move to target 100% sustainability
- €2m investment in new packaging process at home of Ballygowan
- Ireland’s iconic water brand becoming Ireland’s most sustainable water brand
- Over 1,500 tonnes of virgin plastic PET bottles to be eliminated annually
- New Ballygowan branding reflects the sustainable focus of the new packaging
27th May 2021: Ireland’s own Iconic Water Brand, Ballygowan, has moved its full range of grocery products to RPet, fully recycled and recyclable bottles. The move to new RPet bottles has been facilitated by a €2m investment in their operations at Newcastle West, the home and source of Ballygowan. The move is part of a drive for 100% sustainability across the business, under Britvic Ireland’s Healthier People, Healthier Planet strategy.
The shift to recycled bottles will remove 51million virgin plastic bottles from circulation annually. The shift to recycled bottles will reduce Ballygowan’s virgin plastic consumption by 1,288 tonnes. Shifting to lighter bottles will reduce plastic use by a further 245 tonnes. Overall, there will be a reduction of 1,533 Tonnes of virgin plastic each year.
Ballygowan is a 100% natural mineral water. Rainfall drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean falls on land close to Newcastle West, Co. Limerick. It is filtered through mineral rich limestone over centuries and then it returns to the surface from a well, where it is bottled and enjoyed all over Ireland.
Britvic Ireland is are committing to reducing direct carbon emissions by 50% by 2025 and indirect carbon emission by 36% by 2025. Ballygowan is taking a lead within that ambition, having reduced its direct carbon emissions by over 90%.
Ballygowan’s home at Newcastle West, now operates on 95% renewable energy and 100% renewable electricity. That is the highest level of renewables use by any Britvic factory worldwide. There are plans to further increase this in the years ahead. The facility at Newcastle West has also achieved zero waste-to-landfill.
Ballygowan offers Irish consumers the opportunity to buy a locally produced brand, bottled at source in Ireland. Not only does this support Irish jobs, it also reduces the environmental impact of transporting bottles of other water brands from factories across Europe.
In addition to the launch of the new bottles, Ballygowan will be launching a new brand identity for the product, its first significant brand refresh for many years. The new Ballygowan logo a ‘sky to land’ logo, which encapsulates the brand story of Atlantic rain filtered through limestone rock. The rebrand is being supported by a new advertising campaign and an overall €2m investment in promotional and advertising spend.
Kevin Donnelly, Managing Director, Britvic Ireland, commented:
“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone in the story of Ballygowan. By its nature, Ballygowan has always been attuned to the importance of our environment. The purity of our water depends on a natural filtration that is embedded in the earth. By investing in a fully recycled bottling system, we are taking a major step to reduce our impact on the planet. This is the latest innovation in a journey which has already seen a reduction of over 90% in our Manufacturing emissions for Ballygowan under Britvic Ireland’s Healthier People, Healthier Planet strategy.
“The relaunch of our brand captures the natural spirit of Ballygowan. This new campaign tells our origin story, from the air to the earth of Ireland Ballygowan is the most sustainable water brand in the Irish market and we are incredibly proud of that.”
Ballygowan are members of Love Irish Food, an organisation that aims to help shoppers make informed choices about buying Irish manufactured food and drinks and to safeguard the future of food and drink manufacturing in Ireland.
Britvic Ireland and Ballygowan are an Origin Green accredited member since 2015. Origin Green is the worlds’ only national food and drink sustainability programme, and enables the industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities.
Ballygowan are signatories of the Repak Plastics Pledge and were the Winner of Bronze in the Repak Plastics Pledge Awards in 2020.
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For further information, please contact:
Joe Heron or Joanne O’Sullivan, Murray
087 6909735 / 086 0527999
Email: jheron@murraygroup.ie / josullivan@murraygroup.ie
Notes to Editors:
About Britvic Ireland
#1 Irish Manufacturer of low and no sugar drinks
#1 Manufacturer of Bottled Water in Ireland
#1 Stills supplier
#1 Supplier to pubs, clubs and restaurants
#2 Supplier in grocery take-home market
#2 Carbonates supplier
Britvic Ireland is part of Britvic plc, a leading branded soft drinks business in Europe and South America that operates in and exports to over 100 countries. With a brand portfolio dating back to the invention of soda water in 1773, Britvic Ireland is one of the oldest soft drinks companies in the world and remains the only large-scale soft drinks manufacturer in the Republic of Ireland employing 360 people across the Island.
Today, Britvic Ireland is Ireland’s No.1 domestic producer of soft drinks and the No. 2 soft drinks company (by volume) operating in the Irish market. 70% of soft drinks consumed in Ireland are imported and 30% are domestically manufactured, of which Britvic Ireland produces 28%.
A key part of our Britvic vision is to ‘create a better tomorrow’ for all our stakeholders. This means ensuring sustainable practices are embedded in every element of our business strategy
Britvic’s ‘Healthier Planet, Healthier People’ strategy runs throughout the business, ensuring every initiative – from manufacturing to marketing – is built on a sustainable foundation.
The three principal components are:
- Carbon: transitioning to a low carbon economy by maximising energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources where possible.
- Packaging: minimising waste by making packaging fully recyclable, encouraging the right behaviours and supporting a circular economy.
- Natural resources: working towards a truly sustainable supply chain, waging war on waste and championing the efficient use of water and other natural resources.
Ballygowan is leading the way in advancing sustainability at the heart of our business. The Ballygowan home at Newcastle West is an exemplar site within the Britvic Group. In addition to moving to 100% recycled and recyclable PET bottles, Ballygowan has achieved a series of significant sustainability targets at Newcastle West. From reducing emissions, to eliminating waste to landfill and substantially increasing the share of renewable energy.
We are proud to be the number one soft drinks manufacturer in low and no sugar products in Ireland and to continue to lead the evolving category by partnering with retailers and food service customers to continually meet demand for better-for-you hydration and to ultimately nudge consumers towards great tasting healthier refreshment options.