Bacardi Announces Annual Good Spirited Awards

Bacardi Announces Annual Good Spirited Awards for Environmental Sustainability Gains

Winners reduced emissions, water use, energy, and increased recycling and savings.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, May 3, 2018/PRNewswire/ -- While we're all winners when sustainability becomes the norm, Bacardi announced its internal winners of its 4th Annual Bacardi Good Spirited awards. Employees, teams, and facilities received recognition for their substantial environmental achievements within five different award categories. From upcycled glassware in Australia to engineering feats in Puerto Rico, and continued efforts to popularize the Bacardi No Straws campaign, among other initiatives, the winners produced considerable achievements for the environment, brand recognition, and savings.

"Our Good Spirited environmental sustainability initiative is the backbone of our efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of the communities where we work and live," says Rick Wilson, senior vice president of Corporate Responsibility for Bacardi. "All of our initiatives demonstrate our commitment to a more sustainable environment as our colleagues lead the way to a cleaner and more collaborative future."

The awards acknowledge activities that took place between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. The efforts provide Bacardi with long-term improvements across operations, packaging, and responsible sourcing and help drive the company's global infrastructure closer to its goal to reach a net-zero impact—to put back into the environment at least as much as it takes away.

The FY18 Bacardi Good Spirited Award winners are:

Cataño, Puerto Rico - Production Facility - Winner: The largest premium rum facility in the world redesigned distillation columns, reconfigured the barrel conditioning process, and upped its steam recapturing process to significantly reduce water usage. The BACARDÍ® rum facility reuses 100 percent of its condensate within the distillery, which saves an incredible 35,000 gallons of water a day. Along the same lines, a new barrel conditioning process reduced spills and water waste, which produces a savings of 768,000 gallons of water per year. The plant also now recaptures 95 percent of the steam it generates during distillation (up from 60 percent) to produce clean energy, reducing the need for heavy oil consumption.

Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico – Production Facility - Honorable Mention (tie): The Tequila CAZADORES® facility maintained its zero-waste-to-landfill status as it continues to reuse and recycle all waste. In addition, the facility secured PROFEPA Clean Industry Status certification for its best-in-class legal compliance, safety, and environmental practices.

JDSL Distilleries - Production Facility - Honorable Mention (tie): Over a five-year period, the single malt distilleries of John Dewar & Sons Limited – ABERFELDY®, AULTMORE®, CRAIGELLACHIE®, MACDUFF®, ROYAL BRACKLA® – reduced water use by 16 percent. The efforts include automation of cooling water systems in still houses, reduction in water used in cleaning procedures, and the installation of additional water meters. These new methods help lessen water needs from local rivers, burns, and springs.

42BELOW® - New Brand Innovation or Activity - Winner: The vodka brand "upcycled" empty bottles to make highball glasses and eco-friendly planters, saving 2,200 bottles from landfills. To accompany the highball glasses, 20,000 branded metal straws made their way to eco-conscious bar and restaurant partners in support of the Bacardi No Straws campaign. In addition, to encourage festival goers to do their part with regard to the environment, the brand initiated a Festival Keep Cup buy-back program during the three-day festival, which saved more than 4,000 cups from garbage cans over the previous year.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Distillery at Laverstoke Mill - New Brand Innovation or Activity - Honorable Mention (tie): BOMBAY SAPPHIRE launched a new cocktail from the "fruits of its labor." The brand's winter cocktail was a cordial, aptly named "Green." The drink, created from citrus fruit and husk discards from the distillery, features BOMBAYSAPPHIRE & MARTINI® Extra Dry vermouth and the in-house, homemade, upcycled citrus cordial, topped off with soda water.

China MARTINI® - New Brand Innovation or Activity - Honorable Mention (tie): To honor the more than 150-year heritage of the MARTINI brand, and reduce the China MARTINI glass weight, the brand received a makeover with a new, rounder bottle shape and look. The glass bottle is more than 30 percent lighter and significantly reduces the brand's greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of 40 tons of CO2less each year or the equivalent of taking 14 cars off the road annually.

Bacardi España, Barcelona - Sustainable Office - Winner: The Spain team stepped out of the past and into the future with a move to a new, sustainable office in Barcelona that reduces environmental impacts while addressing the health of employees. The new facility, designed with eco-conscious materials, offers employees a workspace that promotes well-being. Each team member received their very own Fitbit® after the move to help increase health and activity awareness and the office launched an in-house app to educate and promote healthy eating habits and physical activities.

Pessione, Italy - Sustainable Office - Honorable Mention: During the 2017 Gin Day trade show, the Pessione office, which represented BOMBAY SAPPHIRE at a booth, collected more than 50kg of discarded lemon halves from the trade show bars, distilled them, and used the extracted oils to make 90 jars of BOMBAYSAPPHIRE Recycled Lemon Eco Soap to gift to area bars and increase environmental awareness.

Scott Franklin - Green Champion - Winner: Scott Franklin, East Region Director for ANGEL'S ENVY®, is known for his steadfast efforts on behalf of the Bacardi No Straws initiative. During every meeting Scott holds, he ensures the basic principles of the No Straws campaign is a central point as he takes time to educate and spread the word on how simply forgoing plastic straws can have huge environmental impacts.

Frank Tagliarini - Green Champion - Honorable Mention: Frank Tagliarini, Environment, Health & Safety Manager at Bacardi Bottling Corporation in Jacksonville, Florida, is a hands-on master of sustainability. In addition to fun employee engagement initiatives, he pioneered the facility's single-stream recycling program and facilitated a partnership with the BACARDÍ rum cardboard shipper and case supplier to collect and reuse all packing materials.

Bacardi Tultitlán-FISAC - Partnership - Winner: The Bacardi Tultitlán-FISAC partnership, together with the Social Research Foundation, collects waste from bars and restaurants in popular tourist areas in Mexico. FISAC is a responsible drinking organization comprised of companies that produce and sell alcohol beverages. Initiated in January 2018, the program established 45 points of waste recollection from 56 bars and restaurants. Through the collection efforts thus far, 130 tons of glass, 45 tons of cardboard, 4.5 tons of PET and 0.8 tons of aluminum have been recycled.

Bacardi-HMS Host – Partnership - Honorable Mention (tie): HMS Host, the airport and travel dining concessions company, partnered with Bacardi to promote the BACARDÍ rum eco-conscious No Straws drink campaign at 360 locations across the world. HMS Host locations serve the BACARDÍ Wildberry Mojito and GREY GOOSE® Cucumber Mint Lemonade "strawless."

Meyrin-AIESEC - Partnership - Honorable Mention (tie): The botanicals team in Meyrin, Switzerland, partnered with international NGO AIESEC to help a Ghana village in West Africa learn to farm grains of paradise and become sustainable and farm responsibly. The new plants are thriving, and the village is operating well with school and nutrition available and no child labor. With the help of AIESEC, the village will be able to independently choose whether to organize as a cooperative or a direct supplier for BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin and now has the skills to farm additional botanicals and crops.

While there were many award submissions, these award recipients represent the top campaigns worldwide that produced the most reductions and savings and generated the largest environmental impacts. The Bacardi Good Spirited initiative has challenged and inspired Bacardi employees to find new ways to take care of the environment and our communities. 

"Conservation is a collaboration that starts with personal responsibility," adds Wilson. "This is part of our longstanding Bacardi corporate culture—it's something I'm very proud of when I see the drive our employees have to innovate and create new ways to solve ongoing issues for our planet and its people."

Since 2006, when Bacardi began tracking its global impact on the environment, it has improved water use efficiency by 50 percent and reduced GHG intensity by 57 percent. Building on current programs and efficiencies that reduce its environmental impacts, the Bacardi Limited "Good Spirited" environmental sustainability program sets specific goals in Responsible Sourcing, Global Packaging, and Operational Efficiencies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water use to help the company reach its vision of a net zero impact.

To learn more about Bacardi Limited and its "Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future" environmental initiative across the entire Bacardi family of premium spirits and wine brands, visit http://www.bacardilimited.com/good-spirited.