Lion New Zealand has reduced its carbon emissions by 10 percent, meeting its carbon emissions reduction commitments as part of its Toitū net carbon zero organisation certification. Lion announced it had gone carbon zero in 2021 and is the first and only large-scale beverage company in NZ that is carbon zero.
“We are leading by example and immensely proud to be carbon zero. As part of this commitment and our Science-Based Target that is aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, we have a plan to reduce our carbon emissions year on year. To that end, we have projects underway to improve the heat efficiency and refrigeration systems within our breweries and to improve the sustainability and associated emissions from the packaging we use,” said Craig Baldie, Lion NZ’s Country Director.
Lion represents approximately 30 percent* of the market, and its carbon zero status covers all its New Zealand manufacturing sites, including The Pride, Speight’s, Emerson’s, Panhead, Little Creatures Brewery, Wither Hill’s Vineyard and Winery, and Havana Coffee Works, its hospitality venues and offices as well.
“To compensate for the emissions we cannot yet reduce or eliminate. We invest in accredited projects that prevent or remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere. We proudly support a wind farm in India that produces energy for communities in Tamil Nadu, that would otherwise be generated by a coal-powered station. Wind power produces no carbon emissions and also avoids the local air pollutants associated with burning fossil fuels; the project has also added local jobs to the area.”
“Lion is taking their responsibility of managing, reducing, and offsetting their organisational carbon emissions year-on-year seriously and being accountable for their impact on the environment. It is important to note the difference in an organisation and product net carbonzero certification. The product certification allows Lion to take a science-based, measured approach to understand the impact its products have throughout their lifecycle and take ownership of the impact. While the organisation certification ensures they are looking wholistically at the business. To achieve both shows a strong interest in evaluating how they operate and willingness to identify areas to decarbonise the business,” said Becky Lloyd, CEO of Toitū Envirocare.
