Carlsberg pushes sustainability efforts with paper beer bottle

Months after refreshing its packaging and look, Carlsberg has unveiled the Green Fibre Bottle which is a "paper bottle" for beer. Made from sustainably sourced wood fibres, it is both 100% bio-based and recyclable.

Carlsberg has developed two research prototypes of the Green Fibre Bottle, that has an inner barrier to allow the bottles to contain beer. One prototype uses a thin recycled PET polymer film barrier, and the other a 100% bio-based PEF polymer film barrier. These prototypes will be used to test the barrier technology as Carlsberg aims to create a 100% bio-based bottle without polymers.

The Denmark-based company joins other leading global companies in developing sustainable packaging through the advancement of paper bottle technology. These developments are a continuation of Carlsberg’s sustainable packaging innovation journey and a key part of its sustainability programme called Together Towards ZERO. According to Carlsberg, the company commits to zero carbon emissions at its breweries and a 30% reduction in its full-value-chain carbon footprint by 2030.

The company first began its focus on sustainable packaging innovations last year, when it introduced Snap Pack, which replaces the plastic wrapping around six-packs with a solution that instead glues the cans together. Myriam Shingleton, vice president group development at Carlsberg Group, said the two Green Fibre Bottle prototypes are an important step towards realising the company's ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market.

"Innovation takes time and we will continue to collaborate with leading experts in order to overcome remaining technical challenges, just as we did with our plastic-reducing Snap Pack," he added.

In August this year, Carlsberg switched up its look, eight years after its old one in 2011. Apart from appealing to a new generation of “ever more sophisticated” beer drinkers, Carlsberg's new packaging boasts a “Fresh Cap” on bottles that claims to keep beer fresh longer and beer packs that have an additional tear perforation for easy opening. Additionally, it started using a Cradle to Cradle certified silver ink on its bottle label that is produced using renewable energy to improve recyclability and applying a new coating of wax emulsion concentrate to its refillable glass bottles to double its lifetime.