“As a brand born at the beach and deeply connected with nature, Corona has a responsibility to do all it can to be an ally to our environment and our oceans.”
Corona, Mexico's world-famous beer brand, said it has achieved a net-zero plastic footprint. The company, part of the AB InBev Group, certifies that the amount of plastic it produces and releases into the environment through its products and business practices is smaller than the amount the company collects and recycles. The result, attested to by South Pole's compliance with the 3RI Corporate Plastic Stewardship Guidelines, is a record in the beverage industry. South Pole is a company specialized in assessing the environmental impact of clients, by looking at specific emission types throughout the supply chain and the product life cycle. Corona focuses on eco-sustainability as a fundamental building block of the company's vision.
One of the projects Corona is working on for sustainability is called Protect Our Beaches. Their goal is to clean up one hundred beaches and eliminate one million pounds of plastic from their business and beaches by 2025. The initiative is possible thanks to the Mexican company's collaboration with Oceanic Global, a leading ocean conservation nonprofit. This project for environmental sustainability is part of the company’s goal to fully eliminate plastic waste from its business operations.
To mark World Oceans Day, an event that falls on June 8, and thus recently passed, Corona launched an augmented reality app called Plastic Reality, which shows users an estimate of the amount of plastic waste they produce by displaying the waste right inside the room. The user inputs into the app some data about their buying habits and generally about their behaviors related to the environment, and the app shows them directly how much this has an impact on the amount of plastic waste they produce or on their plastic footprint.
Referring to the company’s environmental commitment, Felipe Ambra, global vice president of Corona’s marketing, stated “As a brand born at the beach and deeply connected with nature, Corona has a responsibility to do all it can to be an ally to our environment and our oceans. [...] Becoming the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint is the latest in Corona's broader ambition to help protect the world's oceans and beaches from plastic pollution. But we can't do it alone. That's why Corona created Plastic Reality, an augmented reality experience that allows people to see their annual plastic footprint in their own home. Seeing your full years' worth of plastic in your living room is truly eye-opening, and hopefully will inspire people to reduce their personal plastic use and their impact on the environment.”
These are not the only initiatives of Corona towards the environmental issue. In March of this year, the brand launched circular packaging for its six-packs, the result of years of research, made from barley and recycled wood fibers. Turning barley straw into paper fiber uses much less water during manufacturing, along with less energy and fewer harsh chemicals.
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