Beer giant is promising to cut emissions by 50 per cent and ensure all packaging is 100 per cent reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradeable by 2025 Molson Coors has today become the latest firm to join the elite group of corporates with carbon reduction targets independently judged to be in line with limiting global warming to 1.5C. The brewing giant behind beer brands such as Carling, Cobra, Blue Moon, and Coors Light, confirmed it has set new climate targets for 2025 to cut its greenhouse gas emissions from its direct operations in half and slash supply chain emissions by 20 per cent. The goals have been approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which independently assesses and approves targets proposed by businesses based on input from climate scientists. The SBTi judged the targets as being in line with the more ambitious 1.5C goal set out in the Paris Agreement. "Congratulations to Molson Coors on having their emissions reduction targets validated by the SBTi," said Cynthia Cummis, director of private sector climate mitigation at World Resources Institute, one of the initiative's partners. "By setting a target for their operations that aims for the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement - to limit global warming to 1.5C - Molson Coors are charting a path towards a sustainable and thriving future." Molson Coors today also announced a set of new goals to reduce the amount of unrecyclable plastic in its packaging. The brewer said it is aiming for 100 per cent of its packaging to be reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradeable by 2025, as it attempts to reduce the carbon emissions associated with its packaging by 26 per cent and ensure its plastic packaging contains at least 30 per cent recycled content. In the UK, Molson Coors said it will remove plastic rings from Carling and Coors Light cans by the end of March, switching to cardboard sleeves. Meanwhile, its Colorado Native brand is testing a new fibre-based six pack ring for drinks cans. The rings are made from post-industrial recycled fibre and are 100 per cent bio-based, recyclable and compostable in commercial composting facilities, Molson Coors said. "As a global brewer with a strong family heritage, we have always taken seriously our responsibility to brew a more sustainable future," said Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter. "Plastic waste poses a clear environmental challenge, and as a consumer-packaged goods company, we play an important role in helping to solve the global waste crisis." However, some plastics campaigners are sceptical about the switch to compostable plastics, pointing out that in the UK at least commercial composting facilities are few and far between, and there is no separate collection stream for them. As such, many compostable plastics either end up in landfill or as contaminants in the traditional plastic recycling system. Molson Coors is the latest brewing giant to address packaging concerns over its beer. Last year Danish brewing giant Carlsberg unveiled a host of plastic-fighting packaging innovations, including the Snap Pack, which replaces plastic rings in a six pack with tiny dots of glue to allow consumers to 'snap' cans apart.
Molson Coors, the world’s seventh-largest brewer, responsible for brands including Carling, Cobra and the Snap Pack, has pledged to reduce emissions by 50% and ensure that all packaging is 100% biodegradable, compostable, recyclable or reusable by 2025. The company also aims to reduce supply chain emissions by 20%. The targets make Molson Coors the latest firm to join the group of companies with carbon reduction targets judged by the Science Based Targets Initiative to be in alignment with restricting global warming to 1.5C. Molson Coors’ Colorado Native brand is also testing a can ring made from recycled fibre.