We were interested to read in Food Production Daily about the beverage industry's progress in adopting the Carbon Action Plan (CAP).The plan intends to establish labeling requirements for the beverage packaging industry that will identify:

• The amount of renewable energy and offset carbon emissions used in making the product;
• The number of liters of water used to make 1 liter of beverage; and
• The percentage of recycled material used for a product's packaging.

We would include the footprint of the distribution channel as well.  As discussed in Packaging News, the lightweighting of PET bottles (i.e. the reduction in the amount or PET resin used in making the bottle) leads to a reduction in the carbon footprint due to shipping. 

An obvious approach to reducing carbon footprint of packaging is to pursue new bottle designs and innovative bottle-making technology that use less resin or use more recycled resin.  Great examples of this include Welch's new PET Juice Bottle and Nestle's Eco-shape water bottle.

Maybe less obvious is how a novel process technology like low voltage electron beams can directly reduce the carbon footprint of beverage packaging.

AEB is actively involved in assisting the PET bottling value chain reduce its carbon footprint by:

EB Sterilization of Caps and Closures: Using low voltage electron beams to sterilize bottle caps in line allows Aseptic and Extended Shelf Life bottlers to reach high levels of sterility with no chemicals, no water rinsing, and no heat.  Procomac S.P.A. recently discussed their Electron Beam Cap Sterilizer at the Novapack 2008 conference. 

EB Sterilization of Bottles: Cold, dry sterilization is the holy grail of the PET bottling industry.  The allure is sterilization with no chemicals, no rinse water consumption, and no heat.  By enabling cold-filling of aseptic beverages, the resin weight of bottles can be reduced.  While not yet commercialized, a combination of technology development, novel packaging design, and industry collaboration are rapidly advancing the idea.  Click here to see what AEB has presented at Aseptipak 2007 or join us at the upcoming PETnology Conference 2008 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Click here for more information about AEB's solutions for Food and Beverage Packaging.