Carlsberg to Develop Biodegradable Wood Fiber Bottle

 

Carlsberg, Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands, this week announced a ground-breaking agreement to develop the world's first fully biodegradable wood-fiber bottle for beverages. Carlsberg has initiated a three-year project with packaging company ecoXpac, Denmark, with the collaboration of Innovation Fund Denmark and the Technical University of Denmark, to develop a biodegradable and biobased bottle made from sustainably sourced wood fiber, to be known as the "Green Fiber Bottle."

 

All materials used in the bottle, including the cap, will be developed using bio-based and biodegradable materials, primarily sustainably sourced wood fibers, allowing the bottle to be responsibly degraded.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, SVP for corporate affairs, said that "at Carlsberg, we are firm believers in the importance of a circular economy in ensuring sustainable future growth and development on our planet, and today's announcement is excellent news. If the project comes to fruition, as we think it will, it will mark a sea-change in our options for packaging liquids, and will be another important step on our journey towards a circular, zero-waste economy."

 

This latest initiative forms part of the Carlsberg Circular Community (CCC), a cooperation between Carlsberg and selected partners whose aim is to pursue a circular, zero-waste economy by using the Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) framework when developing and marketing new products. The CCC currently comprises six founding partners, with two new partners, ecoXpac and 1HQ (a global branding agency). Its goal is to have 15 partners by 2016.

 

EcoXpac specializes in designing, developing, and producing products made from recycled or natural moulded fiber. It is common to all the materials EcoXpac use that they are biodegradable and CO2-neutrally produced. EcoXpac utilizes a network of research organizations, such as the Technical University of Denmark, to ensure its innovation stems from a thoroughly analyzed basis.  

 

More information is available online.