Lion New Zealand staff across the country removed almost 1,600 litres of rubbish from local beaches, waterways and parks last year.
Over the course of five Sustainable Coastlines clean-up events, 124 Lion staff collected everything from road cones and broken plastic chairs to discarded takeaway packaging and single-use bottles.
“We’ve supported Sustainable Coastlines for more than a decade, and each year, we invite our team to participate in clean-up activities. Volunteering is a core part of our company sustainability strategy to be a ‘force for good’ and these events bring home the importance of our sustainable packaging targets and giving back to our communities," said Lion New Zealand’s Sustainability Advisor Loretta Bahr.
Bahr said that last year 124 of the team took part in clean-ups in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch and collected 1,575 litres or 384 kgs of litter. Bahr said that many go out hoping to see as little rubbish as possible but inevitably end up with full bags.
“Litter on our beaches can have a devastating effect on the environment. Disposing of rubbish correctly is critical and we have a responsibility as a drinks company to ensure as much of our packaging is reused or recycled as possible.
“On average, our packaging in New Zealand is made from 63.3 percent recycled material, while over 99.2 percent of our packaging is recyclable or reusable. We will continue to push past our recycled content target of 50 percent to get it as high as we can, and we have been making small, but meaningful changes to our packaging design to reduce weight and increase recyclability even further.”
“We really value the long-term support of companies such as Lion. Running team clean-up days with the organisations that support us is especially valuable as it means that staff can directly contribute to cleaner beaches and gain a first-hand understanding of the litter problem, which helps to align with the Lion’s own sustainability initiatives,” said Sustainable Coastlines Chief Operating Officer Kate Rooney.
Sustainable Coastlines empowers communities to take action for their local beach through coastal clean-up events, educational programmes, public awareness campaigns, and litter data collection.
To read more bar and beverage news, click here.
