The Suntory Group is strengthening its commitment to the effective use of resources through practicing the Three Rs. when dealing with the waste and by-products generated by containers and packaging as well as in the manufacturing process, to contribute to the building of a recycling-oriented society.

We work on designs that take into account usability from the moment of consumption by the customer to recycling also focus on designs that are lighter, use materials that have a lower impact on the environment, and are easier to recycle. We also work in collaboration with various recycling organizations and local governments to promote recycling.
The Suntory Group works to develop containers and packaging that gives consideration to the environment, based on the Three Rs of "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle."

We are striving to reduce weight in many ways as part of our efforts to conserve resources and conserve energy during transport. We are working to reduce the weight of containers such as PET and glass bottles, as well as other items such as caps, labeling, and the cardboard boxes in which we pack our products.

Blow Molding PET Bottles In-House

The Suntory Group is increasing the number of plants equipped for the process of inflating the preforms that provide the pattern for PET bottles and making them into PET bottles. Additionally, at some plants we are blow molding preforms from PET resin. This enables us to design and control everything from bottle blow molding to filling the contents, thus reducing our resin usage and making it easier to reduce bottle weight. We have also been able to reduce the fuel needed for transport and our CO₂ emissions compared to when we were purchasing PET bottles as completed products.

On our routes, we collect, clean, and put back into use returnable containers used for soft drinks for restaurants and for beer (the amount collected and reused in 2010 reached 117 million units). We have also been working to improve bottle quality, for example, by creating shapes with mouths that will not chip when they have been opened using a bottle opener.

We pay attention to a variety of things from the moment we start designing our containers in order to maintain the quality of the containers we make from the recycled packaging materials we have collected. We collaborate with local governments to make the most of efficient collection routes since many different types of containers flow together and get mixed up with containers from other companies when they are collected.
For glass bottles in commercial channels that are disposed of by liquor stores, restaurants, and bars, specialist companies developed a collection route for us in 1974 that helps when it comes to collections from the distribution channel.

Developing Easy-to-Remove Labels

An easy-to-remove Roll Label

We introduced easily removable Roll Labels for use with smaller containers like 280㎖ PET bottles. They promote recycling by reducing the work customers have to do when disposing of the bottles.

Along with existing approaches to the Three Rs, we have also been pushing forward with innovative approaches by aggressively taking on the challenge of developing new technologies, such as those that make use of renewable resources.

P-ecot Bottles Easily Crushed by Hand

The P-ecot bottle

Suntory Natural Mineral Water products that went on sale in March 2011 in 550㎖ containers make use of P-ecot Bottles, which can be easily crushed by hand. These bottles weigh 13.5 grams each, or about 40% less than conventional bottles. In terms of raw materials, we reduced the amount of petroleum-based resin used by approximately 40%, which we expect will reduce our CO₂ emissions by approximately 7,600 tons per year.
We were mindful when developing the P-ecot bottles of providing a design that customers would find easy to use and a container that would not generate problems when it came to recycling.

Using the Plant-Derived Ingredients

We have been using plant-derived ingredients for the labels on some of our Nacchan 1.5ℓ PET bottle products since February 2011. Polyactic acid—the principal ingredient of which is starch—makes up approximately 70% of the material used to make these labels, lowering their environmental impact compared to conventional labels.

Introducing the RePET Bottle^*1

Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd., in conjunction with Kyoei Industry Co., Ltd., has created the first "bottle-to-bottle"^*2 mechanical recycling^*3 system in the Japanese beverages industry. Using this system, in May 2011 we introduced for some of our products the use of RePET bottles in which new PET bottles are made using PET bottles collected from the marketplace as the raw materials for new ones.

We are committed to recycling containers in collaboration with industry organizations and local governments, as well as with the assistance of consumers. The Suntory Group—which naturally abides by the Container and Packaging Recycling Law and meets its recycling obligations as a business operator—is working hard to create an efficient recycling system.

We are committed to reducing the by-product and waste emissions generated in the manufacturing processes at Suntory Group plants in Japan, and recycling resources 100%. In 2010, our plants in Japan (including Group companies) generated 210,053 tons of by-products and waste. This was a 1% year-on-year increase, but a 5.4% decrease per unit production. We also achieved a 100% resource recycling rate.

Pioneering Uses for Each Type of Recycled Resource

Furniture made from whisky cask materials

A variety of by-products and waste are generated in the manufacturing process. The largest source of waste is vegetable waste derived from produce used as ingredients in our products. Next largest is the sludge from our waste water treatment processes. We pay special attention to ensure that these 2 types of waste are recycled. We recycle the waste and by-products that the Suntory Group generates for the uses listed in the figure blow.

Reducing Sludge Volumes by More than Half

We have introduced anaerobic waste water treatment facilities for processing waste water generated from cleaning production equipment and other processes. Anaerobic treatment uses microbes called anaerobic bacteria that are active when there is no oxygen. This method breaks down water contaminants and makes it possible to generate less than half the sludge of aerobic waste water treatment, which uses aerobic bacteria (that require oxygen). Our plants also make effective use of the methane gas generated from this treatment as fuel.