European soft drinks sector rolls out tailored tool to facilitate soft drinks life cycle assessments

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe has announced the launch of a tailored LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) online tool for the soft drinks industry.

This LCA tool, built in collaboration with technology services company Pilario, enables soft drinks companies to measure, compare and improve the environmental performance of their products, taking into account the ingredients they source, the packaging they use and how their beverages are transported and distributed. It can also contribute to sustainability reporting, and be used to assess performance against industry standards.

The tool integrates all the key elements of the “shadow” soft drinks Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) that UNESDA co-developed with Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk.

Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA, commented: “We are excited to have the first LCA tool tailored specifically for our sector, thanks to our great collaboration with Pilario and Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk. We can now use a practical and user-friendly LCA solution to step up our environmental efforts. This tool is an important service UNESDA offers to its members to help them drive their transition toward packaging sustainability, reinforcing our sector’s ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental footprint of our packaging.”

Alycia Purcell, CEO of Pilario, stated: “Pilario is pleased to have provided the soft drinks sector with an innovative LCA tool that members can use for eco-design and sustainability reporting. Using a software reduces costs and allows scalability across sustainability operations and reporting. Our clients see considerable cost reductions for consultants, and a decrease in the time spent measuring and improving their product’s impact. We are happy to bring this innovation to the soft drinks sector and see progress in the industry toward environmentally friendly practices.”

Elisabeth Keijzer, Senior Consultant and Project Manager at Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk, said: “Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk is thrilled to have co-developed a “shadow” soft drinks Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) with the soft drinks sector. This PEFCR is essential for offering soft drinks companies a clear, harmonised methodology to assess the environmental impact of their products, ensuring that LCA results are reliable and comparable.”