New facade of revamped Evian bottling plant in France

The revamped Evian bottling plant in France

Evian says it is on track to be carbon neutral by 2020 following this week’s inauguration of its French bottling plant after a €280m (£253m) redevelopment.

Powered by 100% renewable energy and certified carbon neutral, the site in Évian-les-Bains would allow Evian to become Danone’s first brand to achieve net zero carbon emissions, Véronique Penchienati, Evian Volvic world president, told The Grocer.

It would enable a raft of sustainability measures, she added, including 50% recycled PET in every bottle by 2020 – up from the current 25% – and the broader rollout to the UK and other global markets of Evian’s wrap-free multipack. Already available in France and the US, it uses dots of recyclable glue to hold the bottles together.

An upgraded railway station at the 130,000 sq m site would allow for more shipping by train, cutting down on the need for trucks, Penchienati said. Evian already transports 60% of its products via rail.

The new-look site is the first carbon-neutral Danone facility, and France’s largest carbon-neutral food and drink production plant, according to Evian. It has put the mineral water giant on course to produce two billion bottles a year by 2020, with one line already capable of completing 72,000 larger format packs per hour.   

The plant had been upgraded to support “all the innovation projects the brand has and will have” said Penchienati.

In UK grocery, Evian has increased its value sales by 5.5% to £153m [IRI 52 w/e 31 December 2016].