Latest environmental issues news and analysis articles 
All things green
Comment - Soft Drinks & Water - Responsible Packaging
16 May 2012
This month, Ray Rowlands, takes a look at the developing role of PET in soft drinks and its environmental impact.
just-drinks.com site outage
2 April 2012
We apologise for the earlier just-drinks.com site outage today (2nd April) between 18:00 and 21:30. This was due to a catastrophic hardware failure.
UK: Molson Coors warns of drought threat to brewers
30 March 2012
Drought conditions across the UK are threatening to have a major impact on brewers and distillers in the country, as arable farmers see their yields fall, research has revealed.
EUR: EU glass recycling rate fails to rise in 2010 - figures
27 March 2012
The rate of glass recycling in the European Union came in flat in 2010, according to recent figures.
GLOBAL: Anheuser-Busch InBev closes in on "ambitious" green targets
23 March 2012
Anheuser-Busch InBev has said it is two-thirds of the way towards achieving the three-year global environmental goals it set itself in 2009.
UK: Cider makers launch sustainability website
31 January 2012
UK cider makers are stepping up their focus on long-term sustainability with the launch of a new website promoting best practice.
Comment - Why the Global Risks Report Matters to You
11 January 2012
The latest edition of the Global Risks Report may seem far removed from the world of selling drinks, or food, but it raises some difficult challenges for the sector.
GLOBAL: The Coca-Cola Co aims to create PlantBottle II
15 December 2011
The Coca-Cola Co has signed "multi-million dollar" tie-up deals with biotechnology companies in order to create a bottle that is made entirely from plants, for use across its entire drinks portfolio.
GLOBAL: Sugar supplies to remain tight - Rabobank
6 December 2011
Analyst group Rabobank has said that sugar supplies will remain tight in 2012, as stronger demand from China and depleted stocks in many countries weigh against forecasts for higher overall production.
GLOBAL: Commodity squeeze here to stay - McKinsey
28 November 2011
Consultancy McKinsey & Co has said that the first decade of the 21st Century has wiped out all efforts to lower commodity prices in the 20th Century and that volatility is here to stay.
In the Spotlight - Counting the Cost of Obesity
25 November 2011
Pressure around the economic cost of obesity is growing, raising the spectre of how long governments, such as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition in the UK, will allow self-regulation to dominate policy.
EUROPE: Ecolabel plan for drinks, food meets resistance
10 November 2011
A European Commission plan to apply an 'Ecolabel' to food and drink sold in the European Union is facing opposition from leading consumer, environment and industry groups.
Focus - Has PepsiCo Set The Bar for PET Development?
17 March 2011
This week, PepsiCo laid claim to having developed the first PET plastic bottle made from plant-based, fully renewable resources. While the launch provides the company with a useful tool to fight rising commodity prices, PepsiCo tells just-drinks that it believes the development could draw a response from its soft drink rivals.
US: PepsiCo claims world first in plant-based PET bottle
15 March 2011
PepsiCo has laid claim to having developed the first PET plastic bottle made from plant-based, fully renewable resources.
INDIA: The Coca-Cola Co subsidiary facing pollution charge
25 February 2011
India’s southern state of Kerala has passed legislation that could make The Coca-Cola Co liable for up to INR2.6bn (US$57.3m) for damage to the local environment and population.
SPAIN: Rioja wine region threatened by power lines
8 February 2011
Some of Rioja's most prestigious vineyards may be under threat from plans to build an extensive network of electricity lines across the Spanish wine region.
Comment - Raw Material Price Rises Threaten Crisis
11 January 2011
We are only one poor harvest away from chaos, a leading food analyst has predicted this week. Coming in the same week as the floods in Australia, which, aside from awful social affects, will devastate the region's wheat harvest, this has thrown the spotlight squarely onto the rising prices of raw materials once again.
Focus - Scotch Whisky Industry Gets Behind SWA Environmental Strategy
17 December 2010
In its Environmental Strategy Report 2010, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) provides what it believes to be ‘the most detailed dataset’ of environmental impacts of any industry. In an exclusive interview with just-drinks, Julie Hesketh-Laird, the SWA's operational and technical affairs director, spoke with Ben Cooper about what has happened since the strategy was launched 18 months ago.
SPAIN: Heineken links workers' bonus pay to green objectives
13 December 2010
Heineken has launched a three-year sustainability campaign in Spain to improve its environmental and sustainability credentials in the country.
AUS: Casella Wines opposes Murray Darling water cuts
23 November 2010
The managing director of Casella Wines has joined farmers and grape growers to protest about a 43% cut to water in the Murray Darling Basin in southeastern Australia.
Research – Point-of-use ups US water cooler presence
19 November 2010
Plumbed-in mains water coolers, known as point-of-use, have raised their share of the US cooler market, according to recent research.
UK: just-food.com opens its doors for two weeks
17 November 2010
just-food is to give away more than GBP1,000 (US$1,600) in free intelligence into the food sector.
CHILE/UK: Concha y Toro brings Diablo Ecoglass bottles to UK
3 November 2010
Concha y Toro has introduced an 'Ecoglass' lightweight bottle in the UK for it Casillero del Diablo wine brand.
GLOBAL: Raw materials prices to remain volatile
27 October 2010
The World Bank has warned that prices for raw materials such as barley and wheat will remain volatile for at least the next five years.
FRANCE: Champagne council fails to halt nuclear waste site
27 October 2010
Champagne's ruling council has warned producers to be vigilant after it failed to prevent the continuation of a nuclear waste site only few miles from vineyards.
US: Coca-Cola Co's Odwalla to use "greener" bottles
22 October 2010
Natural health beverage firm Odwalla is to transfer all of its single-serve bottles to PlantBottle packaging.
CANADA: Government steps closer to BPA ban
20 October 2010
Less than a week after the Canadian Government added Bisphenol A (BPA) to its national list of toxic substances, it has proposed new regulations that would control the chemical’s use in plastic drinks packaging.
Focus – Europe's Water Industry Pushes Positive Sustainability Image
19 October 2010
While marketing bottled water in countries with a safe tap water supply is seen as environmentally unsustainable by campaigners, the bottled water industry believes it has a positive story to tell with regard to its environmental footprint. Ben Cooper spoke with Patricia Fosselard, secretary general of the European Federation of Bottled Water (EFBW), about the publication of the EFBW’s first sustainability report and the industry’s environmental record.
INDIA: Indage Vintners reveals extent of losses
8 October 2010
Indage Vintners has revealed the extent of its full-year losses for the first time since facing a winding up order in its native India.
UK: Home drinking sees retailers miss waste targets
24 September 2010
A consumer shift to drinking wine and beer at home has been blamed for UK retailers missing their waste reduction targets, according to an official report.






