The domestic division of the Japanese multi-category group Suntory has utilised a lower-carbon aluminium can for its The Premium Malt’s beer brand.
Released in Japan this week for a limited period, the new can for the 5.5% ABV beer creates 25% less carbon in its production process than conventional aluminium cans. The pack is the result of a project undertaken by four companies “from different fields” in Japan, according to Suntory.
The mass balance method employed involves “mixing a material that has a specific characteristic with those without that characteristic,” the brand owner said. “The characteristic can be allocated to a part of the output of the product in proportion to the amount of the material with the characteristic used in the production process.”
Also factored into the carbon claim is the use of renewable energy to make the can.
“We are very pleased that the five companies were able to work together to reduce GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions in the aluminium can value chain,” said Masaaki Fujiwara, chief sustainability officer at parent Suntory Holdings. “We will continue to work with all members of the value chain to promote various initiatives to reduce GHG emissions.”
Late last year, Suntory’s Beam Suntory won the Global Drinks Intel ESG Award for ‘Rewilding/Nature Improvement’ with its Maker’s Mark American whiskey brand.
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