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Guinness recently eliminated animal products from its dry stout to make its products suitable for vegans and now the company is investing £16 million to remove plastic packaging and replace it with more eco-friendly alternatives.
Irish stout makers Guinness announced in 2015 they would be eliminating the need to filter the drink with isinglass (fish bladders), a product made from fish bladders that helps to remove extra yeast from the stout, in order to make the stout suitable for vegans.
In 2018, the company confirmed that all of its products were now suitable for vegans with the same great taste customers have enjoyed since 1759.
The company has now announced that it has invested £16 million in a new initiative to ditch plastic packaging from all of its products in a bid to tackle the issues facing the planet thanks to plastic pollution.
The company who owns the Guinness brand, Diageo, has unveiled plans to use 100% recyclable and biodegradable cardboard packaging as a replacement for plastic shrink wrap and ring carriers which can be hugely damaging to wildlife and the environment.
The company aims to reduce its plastic use by over 400 tonnes annually with the new packaging which it expects will be available in Ireland from August 2019 and which will roll out to international markets in 2020.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Country Director of Diageo Ireland, Oliver Loomes, said: “Managing our environmental impact is important for the planet and the financial sustainability of our business.
“For 260 years Guinness has played a vital role in the communities around us… We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at St James’s Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging. This is good news for the environment and for our brand.”
Guinness joins the likes of Corona and Carlsberg as some of the first major beer brands to ditch plastic packaging.
