To reduce the environmental impact of single-use glass bottles for high-end spirits, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (FSHR), Asia-Pacific, is teaming up with ecoSPIRITS to implement an innovative packaging and distribution system for its properties in the region.
The pioneering low-carbon and low-waste distribution technology by ecoSPIRITS can lower the carbon footprint of spirit consumption at the group’s regional properties by up to 80 per cent, said FSHR in a press statement.
Not only does the technology take away the need for glass bottles – typically used once to contain high-end spirits and discarded to landfills – it also removes the need for cardboard packaging by using a reusable, stackable container called ecoTOTE.
At small-scale, local ecoPLANT facilities, the premium spirits are poured from bulk containers into the four-and-a-half-litre ecoTOTEs. Bartenders then refill their bottles using the totes. The packaging and distribution method helps to improve shipping efficiency.
The hospitality group has kicked-start the switch to the new technology at fourteen of its properties in the region, with more properties to follow, shared Philipp Blaser, vice president-food and beverage, FSHR, Asia-Pacific, in the press statement.
Of the transition process, Blaser said it was “seamless with very few changes required in back-of-house”.
Paul Gabie, CEO, ecoSPIRITS, said in the statement that the technology will help to “eliminate a small portion of the 22 million tons of carbon emissions that (such bottles) will generate in 2020” worldwide.
