O-I’s plant in Reims, France, is delivering champagne bottles to nearby customers with trucks powered by grapeseed and fryer oil. The grapeseed oil is harvested in the Marne and Aubre regions of France and the fryer oil comes from the Paris region.
Leveraging biofuels in the transportation of O-I’s bottles results in a 60 percent CO2 emissions savings compared to diesel fuel and 80 percent less fine particle emissions.
“To be effective, our commitment to sustainable development must be 360 degree and involve all segments of our business, from purchasing to production, including our support functions and our day-to-day practices,” said Walter Ferrer, O-I Managing Director, South West Europe. “While we are already well advanced in terms of the circular economy, with rates of recycled raw materials called cullet that can exceed 80 percent, we are working hard to increase the energy efficiency of our equipment, create more resilient supply chains, and improve the working conditions of our teams.”
This method represents 70 percent of the plant’s current champagne bottle deliveries. It is the Reims plant’s ambition to deliver all champagne bottles to customers via this system within the next three years.
This is an example of O-I’s sustainability journey to involve the entire value chain and transform processes, products and interconnected relationships to bring life to the company vision for a sustainable future.