Carlsberg gives latest green fibre bottle update

Carlsberg’s paper bottles

Carlsberg has unveiled two new research prototypes of its Green Fibre Bottle, which are the first "paper bottles" to contain beer. Carlsberg also announced that it has been joined by other leading global companies who are united in their vision of developing sustainable packaging through the advancement of paper bottle technology.

These developments are a continuation of Carlsberg’s sustainable packaging innovation journey and a key part of its sustainability programme, Together Towards ZERO, including its commitment to ZERO carbon emissions at its breweries and a 30 per cent reduction in its full value chain carbon footprint by 2030.

Two new prototypes

The two new research prototypes are made from sustainably-sourced wood fibre, are fully recyclable, and have an inner barrier to allow the bottles to contain beer. One prototype uses a thin recycled PET polymer film barrier, and the other a 100 per cent bio-based PEF polymer film barrier. These prototypes will be used to test the barrier technology as Carlsberg seeks a solution to achieve their ultimate ambition of a 100 per cent bio-based bottle without polymers.

Myriam Shingleton, vice president of Group Development at Carlsberg Group, said, “We continue to innovate across all our packaging formats, and we are pleased with the progress we’ve made on the Green Fibre Bottle so far. While we are not completely there yet, the two prototypes are an important step towards realising our ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market. Innovation takes time and we will continue to collaborate with leading experts in order to overcome remaining technical challenges, just as we did with our plastic-reducing Snap Pack.”

Snap Pack and paper bottles

New partners on board

Carlsberg kicked off the project to develop a bottle made from sustainably sourced wood fibres, the "Green Fibre Bottle", in 2015 alongside innovation experts ecoXpac, packaging company BillerudKorsnäs, and post-doctoral researchers from the Danish Technical University, supported by Innovation Fund Denmark. These combined efforts have resulted in the emergence of Paboco, the paper bottle company – a joint venture between BillerudKorsnäs and bottle manufacturing specialist Alpla.

Carlsberg will now be joined by The Coca-Cola Company, The Absolut Company, and L’Oréal in a paper bottle community – launched today by Paboco. The community unites leading global companies and experts with the vision of advancing sustainable packaging and offering high-quality products while reducing their environmental impact.

Myriam Shingleton continued, “The work with our partners since 2015 on the Green FibreBottle illustrates that this kind of innovation can happen when we work together. We’re delighted that other like-minded companies have now joined us as part of Paboco’s paperbottle community. Partnerships such as these, ones that are united by a desire to create sustainable innovations, are the best way to bring about real change.”

A constant pursuit of better

Carlsberg’s focus on sustainable packaging innovations is not new. In 2018, the Danish brewer launched a number of packaging innovations including recycled shrink film, greener label ink, and the innovative Snap Pack, which replaces the plastic wrapping around its six-packs with a solution that instead glues cans together.

Carlsberg’s packaging improvements are part of its long-standing progress of betterment and innovation, including developing scientific breakthroughs such as pure yeast and the pH scale.

The Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands. Its flagship brand – Carlsberg – is one of the best-known beer brands in the world, and the Baltika, Carlsberg, and Tuborg brands are among the eight biggest brands in Europe. Around 41,000 people work for Carlsberg Group and its products are sold in more than 150 markets.

Carlsberg is one of the first Danish multi-national companies to enter Vietnam and made its first investment in 1993. For the first 20 years, Carlsberg managed its Vietnamese operations through Carlsberg Indochina. In 2012, a fully dedicated Carlsberg Vietnam organisation was established with offices and breweries in the north and central Vietnam. Carlsberg Vietnam’s brands include Carlsberg, Tuborg, Huda, Huda Ice Blast, Huda Gold, and Halida.

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