Lotte Chilsung Says It Cut Plastic Use by About 3,000 Tons Last Year

Products using 100% MR-PET: Saero, Icis and Pepsi Zero Sugar Lime. [Photo=Lotte Chilsung Beverage]

Lotte Chilsung Beverage said Monday it reduced plastic emissions by about 3,000 tons last year by lowering the environmental impact of packaging across its production process under its ESG (environmental, social and governance) management strategy.

The company said its main approach was to lighten containers and expand the use of recycled materials. For bottled water, it introduced an ET-CAP with a lower bottle-neck height, cutting container weight by up to 12% and saving about 810 tons of plastic.

It also expanded lightweighting to products ranging from carbonated drinks, coffee and teas to soju, reducing preform weight by up to 5 grams per bottle. The company said that delivered a 1,650-ton reduction. For large-size products, it applied aseptic PET, cutting an additional roughly 240 tons.

Lotte Chilsung said it is also accelerating the shift to recycled inputs. In October last year, it launched what it called the country’s first PET bottle made with 100% recycled plastic for Chilsung Cider 500 mL. The company said the product cut plastic use by about 250 tons within two months of launch. This year, it is expanding the 100% recycled material to Pepsi Zero Sugar Lime 500 mL, Icis 500 mL and Saero 640 mL, it said.

The company said it is working with partners including the Korea National Park Service and the Korea Post’s postal service headquarters to build a “bottle-to-bottle” system that recycles used PET back into food containers. Using clear PET collected in national parks as recycled feedstock, it said it has created a circular system equivalent to about 440,000 bottles a year, or 6.6 tons.

A Lotte Chilsung Beverage official said the company is reducing environmental burdens through sustainable packaging technology while setting standards for the broader industry, adding it will continue linking ESG management to business strategy to push its eco-friendly transition.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kim Hyuna