Highland Spring rolled-out its eco bottle made of 100% recycled plastic in January, following a successful trial

Highland Spring Group will ramp up its environmental sustainability initiatives after securing multi-million-pound backing from HSBC UK.

The bottled water supplier received a £55.5m funding package from the UK bank, including asset-based lending and debt refinance.

It will use a portion of the cash boost to reduce the amount of PET plastic in the manufacture of its products as it seeks to increase the recycled PET plastic content in its bottles to 50% by 2022.

Furthermore, Highlands Spring said it will invest in a new railway siding next to its main bottling plant in Blackford, Scotland, to enable the transportation of its products in a more “environmentally sustainable way” reducing the business’ carbon footprint.

“HSBC UK’s funding has been instrumental in enabling the Highland Spring Group to continue to develop and implement innovative projects which support both our operational strategy and our environmental ambitions,” chief operating officer Mark Steven said.

“As a responsible company, we are committed to investing in solutions which will make positive changes across our business and advance our focus on providing healthy hydration in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Highland Spring is one of the UK’s biggest producer of bottled water, employing 470 people across four sites.

In June, the company improved its eco-friendly offer with the launch of a children’s bottle made with 100% recycled plastic, following the national roll-out of its 100% recycled eco-bottle into UK grocery in January.