The Swiss Association for Environmentally Friendly Beverage Packaging (SVUG), with the support of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Beverage Carton Recycling Association, commissioned Carbotech to carry out a life cycle assessment of the current state of the Swiss beverage industry. For the six sectors of beer, mineral water & soft drinks, fruit juice, wine, spirits and milk, the contributions of the packaging systems and a comparison with the contents were analysed.
Below are some of the results of the study:
- Relevance of packaging: apart from mineral water, the content is much more relevant than the packaging from an environmental point of view.
- Use of beverage packaging: Depending on the type of beverage, different suitable packaging systems are used. There is no single type of beverage packaging that is the most optimal packaging for all types of beverage.
- Environmentally friendly packaging: The production of the packaging is particularly relevant. Lightweight packaging and large containers or reusable solutions have a low environmental impact.
- Recycling: The benefits of recycling depend heavily on the material. A high recycling rate alone is therefore no guarantee of ecological packaging.
- Reusable packaging: For reusable solutions, the number of usage cycles and transport distances play a key role in calculating the environmental impact.
The results of the study make it clear that despite the progress already made in recent years, there is still potential to reduce the environmental impact of the Swiss beverage industry. It is crucial to strive for improvements in the beverages themselves, as these have the greatest influence on the industry’s overall environmental impact. By developing and promoting more environmentally friendly production methods and reducing raw materials and ingredients with a high environmental impact, the industry can make a decisive contribution to reducing its ecological footprint. With regard to packaging, measures such as reducing the weight of packaging can bring about improvements, as can the continuous increase in recycled content and recycling rates. In addition, the increased use of renewable energies in the production of beverage packaging offers an opportunity to further minimise the environmental impact.
The full study can be downloaded below.