News Release

PET Beverage Bottle Featuring Japan’s Lightest (1.85g) Bottle Cap Made from 30% Plant-Based Materials

Suntory Beverage & Food Limited (SBF) introduces a beverage PET bottle that features Japan’s lightest^*1 bottle cap at 1.85g^*2, which is made using 30% plant-based materials.
SBF uses all environmentally conscious packaging, including the bottle, cap, and label, for Suntory Tennensui 550ml.
SBF began using these materials for Suntory Tennensui (550ml, for vending machines) produced at the Minami Alps Hakushu Water Plant in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture (annual production: Approx. 5 million c/s), and is planning the gradual rollout of these materials to other products under the Suntory Tennensui brand. This will enable SBF to reduce the use of petroleum-based raw materials by 35%^*3 and to reduce CO₂ emissions by 27%^*3 compared to PET bottle caps currently used.

*1: September 2016, SBF research

*2: Weight value represents current design specification

*3: Per each bottle of Suntory Tennensui (550ml)

●About use of 30% plant-based materials
Each cap uses 30% polyethylene made using plant-based ethanol instead of petroleum-based ethanol. First integrated into the Kyushu Kumamoto Plant (Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto) in spring 2016. This cap being used at the Minami Alps Hakushu Water Plant is an improved design featuring further weight reductions.

●About weight reduction
In 2008, SBF introduced a 30φ (phi)^*4 cap for Suntory Tennensui with cap weight reduced to 2.05g as part of its initiatives related to reducing environmental load. This newly designed cap further achieves a 10% weight reduction from 2.05g to 1.85g, the lightest cap produced in Japan.

*4: φ (phi) is the unit of measurement for diameter. 30φ is 30mm.

Rooted in our corporate philosophy of Harmony with People and Nature, the Suntory Group not only provides the highest quality products and services, but we also conduct various environmental impact reduction activities aimed at ensuring future generations are able to inherit a sustainable earth environment. Our initiatives related to PET bottle containers are based on Suntory’s unique 2R+B strategy.

●About the 2R+B strategy
Reduce/Recycle + Bio is a an approach that promotes reductions in volumes of resin used and the effective use of resources through material recycling as well as the aggressive use of renewable alternatives to petroleum-based raw materials. The Reduce aspect of this approach is applied not only to bottles, but also to labels and caps in order to promote volume reduction. The Recycle aspect involves creating a mechanical bottle-to-bottle recycling system, the first of its kind in Japan. The Bio aspect has already been implemented through the use of 30% plant-based materials for Suntory Tennensui (550ml).

The Suntory Group will continue with the aggressive development of products that meet customer needs and address environmental measures related to our containers.

▽Suntory Beverage & Food Limited website (environmental activities)
　https://www.suntory.com/softdrink/responsibility/index.html