Diageo Partners with ecoSPIRITS to take circular spirits packaging global

Diageo and ecoSPIRITS have announced a global agreement for the distribution of a range of Diageo spirits brands in ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging technology in an expected 18 markets over the next three years. Diageo’s commitment to broad deployment of a circular packaging format is the first of its kind in the spirits industry and forms part of its 10-year ESG action plan Society 2030: Spirit of Progress.

As part of the new collaboration, Diageo spirit brands will be made available at participating bars, restaurants and hotels in ecoSPIRITS’ award-winning ecoTOTE™ format, starting with Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum, and Gordon’s gin. ecoSPIRITS is also investing in expanding its customer success resources to support the new collaboration, fielding an implementation team in London dedicated to supporting technology deployments in individual Diageo markets around the world.

As part of the new agreement, Diageo will have access to ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging technology platform, including the ecoTOTE, SmartPour™ and CircularONE™ technologies. Diageo brands and local market affiliates will also have access to ecoSPIRITS’ global network of ecoPLANT™ processing sites, which are operated by its licensed operators in more than 25 countries around the world. The global agreement provides a flexible framework that allows individual Diageo markets to pilot and scale circular packaging as part of their local business development and sustainability plans.

Diageo first started working with ecoSPIRITS in 2021 through the Diageo Sustainable Solutions programme, which aims to find technology innovators that can bridge the innovation gap across Diageo’s supply chain to help the company reach its ESG targets. The partnership also aligns with Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress plan and it is a step towards its goal of reducing carbon emissions across the supply chain by 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

The new global partnership builds on the successful ongoing pilot programme of the ecoSPIRITS technology by Diageo Indonesia that started in 2022. As part of this initiative, Smirnoff vodka is supplied in ecoTOTE format to 38 leading bars, restaurants and hotels in Bali and Jakarta. Diageo Indonesia also commissioned an ecoPLANT 2.0S to process and refill ecoTOTEs at its existing production facility in Bali. The local closed loop system has been operational for almost a year, generating positive feedback from outlet partners and consumers alike and confirming the commercial viability of circular packaging in the Indonesian market.

Under the new partnership, Diageo’s spirit brands will be made available in ecoTOTE format at participating markets, with Gordon’s gin initially set to join Smirnoff vodka and Captain Morgan rum. In 2024, new Gordon’s gin co-branded editions of the ecoTOTE 3.0S and SmartPour 2.0S will join the existing Smirnoff vodka and Captain Morgan rum editions. Taken together, the selection of premium vodka, gin and rum offerings in circular packaging allows partnering bars, restaurants and hotels to reduce single use packaging waste and carbon footprint associated with some of their highest-volume pouring spirits.