Recycling is crucial on the island home of the world’s largest rum distillery in Cataño, Puerto Rico. Every year, the facility that makes Bacardi rum recycles more than 2,000 tons (4 million pounds) of material in a place where landfill space is extremely scarce.
“Here, we recycle everything we can from paper, plastic, metal, aluminum, cardboard, even electronics,” says Lissette Sepulveda, the environmental health & safety coordinator for Bacardi in Puerto Rico.
As part of its “Good Spirited” sustainability program, Bacardi aims to eliminate landfill waste at all of its production sites by 2022.
Even landscape debris goes to good use. “We started transforming the landscaping debris and using it as compost,” adds Sepulveda, “This is waste that is not going to go to the landfill, so it’s very good for our local environment.”
Since 2006, when the company began tracking its global impacts on the environment, Bacardi has reduced energy use by 25 percent, supported by a 48 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from Bacardi rum production.
Building on current programs that reduce the Company’s impact on the environment, the Bacardi Limited “Good Spirited” global sustainability program sets specific goals in three areas:
· Responsible Sourcing: Bacardi strives to obtain all raw materials and packaging from sustainably sourced, renewable or recycled materials while maintaining or enhancing the economic status of growers and suppliers. By 2017, the goal is to obtain 40 percent of the sugarcane-derived products used to make Bacardi rum from certified, sustainable sources – and 100 percent by 2022.
· Global Packaging: Bacardi commits to use eco-design to craft sustainability into its brand packaging and point-of-sale materials. By 2017, Bacardi plans to reduce the weight of its packaging by 10 percent and achieve 15 percent by 2022.
· Operational Efficiencies: Bacardi continues to focus on reducing water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a 2017 goal to cut water use by 55 percent and GHG emissions by 50 percent.
