On SPIEF-2017 CEO of Carlsberg Group will discuss Russia’s participation in the green politics

June, 2 at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum the session “Opportunities (or duty) for Russia in the emerging global green politics” will take place during which government and business representatives are to discuss strategic opportunities for sustainable business development, mitigating negative environmental impact, and countering global warming.

What investment and technological opportunities are being created to address global climate and environmental concerns? What are the most promising market opportunities for the sector over the medium term? – on these questions the panelists will give answers.

Among the speakers are Cees 't Hart, Chief Executive Officer at Carlsberg Group, Sergei Ivanov, Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport, Sergey Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Alexander Khloponin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and corporate sector representatives. The panel discussion will take place on June, 2, 12:00-13:15, Congress Centre, Conference Hall D1

Carlsberg Group has created its sustainability strategy, basing on the large-scale initiatives at the international arena, such as Paris Climate agreement and UN sustainable development goals, as well as materiality assessment of the most important sustainability management topics, risks and impacts for the business conducted by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). Thus, the four priority areas emerged as most crucial for the Carlsberg Group business and stakeholders are Energy & carbon, Water, Responsible drinking and Health & safety.

«We believe that the private sector plays a central role as agents of change in overcoming the global challenges. In 2016, the company has laid the foundation for building our new sustainability strategy in cooperation with leading global experts», − says Cees 't Hart, Chief Executive Officer at Carlsberg Group.

40% of the Group’s carbon footprint comes from the packaging. That is why the company’s significant efforts are focused on innovations and search of sustainable solutions in this area. Carlsberg Group sees large potential in developing partnerships in this area, especially in adapting circular economy principles.

In this aspect PET recycling industry in Russia is one of the promising sectors of economy. PET is 100% recyclable and perfectly suitable to be reused in continuous loops and reproduced in new goods. In some of European countries PET recycling level reaches 90%.

In Russia the capacity of equipment for PET recycling is almost 160 000 tons or 30% of the used PET-packaging. But the processors experience deficit of materials.

To contribute to the development of separate waste collection in Russia and decrease environmental impact Baltika Breweries accomplishes the project “Benefit your city” in cooperation with packaging collectors in 12 Russian cities. Through more than 2000 containers glass, aluminum cans and PET-bottles are collected and sent for recycling.

Looking ahead Baltika plans to invest in the acquisition of PET sorting and recycling lines to increase PET recycling and reduce environmental impact across Russia.

In 2016, in cooperation with partners Baltika collected and sent for recycling more than 40 thousand tonnes of cullet. The entire volume of the glass was sent to the glass factories Baltika Breweries cooperates with for remelting and using in the production of new bottles.

Taking into account that the reduction in CO2 emissions is 0.246 tons per ton of glass waste used, Baltika Breweries has managed to reduce CO2 emissions by over 9,000 tons during 2016.

Baltika also works with partners to reduce packaging weight. Recently the company has reduced plastic waste mass by 4,000 tons per year by adapting new standard PCO 1881 for PET-packaging which feature is the decreased weight of the preform’s neck and the use of lighter caps. This standard was developed and approved by the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT).

On the global level the Carlsberg Circular Community (CCC) is established which is a cooperation between the Carlsberg Group and selected partners with the aim of pursuing a circular, zero-waste economy by using the Cradle-to-Cradle® (C2C®) framework when developing and marketing new products.

Owing to different projects, in 2016, the Carlsberg Group reduced carbon emissions by 28% and by 16% in Russia when comparing to 2010 levels.