Business News in Brief: Oh snap! Carlsberg’s new sustainable beer packaging hits the streets

Elsewhere, FLSmidth scores in Ethiopia, Vestas has new turbines and Jysk cuddles up in Ireland

Jan 25, 2019

If you’ve been down the shop for a six pack of beer recently, you may have noticed some alternative packaging for Carlsberg products.

The traditional plastic ring can holders have been abandoned by the Danish brewery giant in favour of the new ‘Snap Pack’, a more sustainable option that will save the company 150 tonnes of plastic in Denmark alone.

“We always strive to improve and today’s launch clearly shows our ambition to follow in our founder’s footsteps towards a better tomorrow. Carlsberg’s Snap Pack will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste, and we look forward to giving our consumers better beer experiences with less environmental impact,” said the CEO of Carlsberg, Cees ‘t Hart.

The Snap Pack, which has taken three years to develop, uses a technique that involves adding a bit of glue between the cans to hold them together, and Carlsberg is the first brewery in the world to implement the technique.

Environmental backing
When fully implemented across the board, the Snap Pack is expected to reduce Carlsberg’s plastic consumption by a staggering 76 percent and cut out 1,200 tonnes of plastic waste every year – the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags. And that’s a big deal for environmental organisations.

”We see Snap Pack as an excellent example of a solution that leads to a significant reduction in plastic packaging, and it is our hope that it will lead to even more ambitious initiatives within reduction and recycling in Carlsberg in the coming years,” said Henrik Beha Pedersen, the head of environmental advocacy organisation Plastic Change.

Those unfamiliar with the new Snap Pack will find some short instructions on the handle of the pack – for instance it’s important to split the pack down the middle into two rows before clicking off the individual beers (check out Hart demonstrating the process in the video at the bottom of this article).

Leave the glue on the side of the cans when handing them in for the pant recycling system and drop the thin handle into the plastic waste disposal bin.

FLSmidth inks contract in Ethiopia
The Danish engineering company FLSmidth revealed this week that it had landed a contract for a large cement plant in Ethiopia. The deal concerns a plant located near the city of Dejen and the contract is valued at about 745 million kroner – including design and engineering, full equipment supply, automation systems, installation and commissioning as well as training and extended supervision. The order is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.

Vestas unveils new turbines
Danish wind turbine producer Vestas has introduced a new turbine platform, the EnVentus, which it hopes will revolutionise the wind energy sector. The new platform represents the next generation of wind turbine technology and will initially be available in Vestas’ V150-5.6 MW and V162-5.6 MW turbines. The EnVentus is the first platform introduction for Vestas since 2011 and builds on technology and system designs from the company’s 2 MW, 4 MW and 9 MW platforms.

Jysk takes leap to Ireland
The Danish home retailer Jysk has announced it intends to open 15 shops across Ireland over the next two years. Already present in 51 countries, Jysk will open its first store in Naas, Country Kildare in April, before additional shops open in Drogheda (Louth), Navan (Meath) and Portlaoise (Laois) in the following months. Jysk currently employs around 23,000 people in 2,700 shops worldwide and the jaunt to Ireland is expected to create over 200 jobs.

Danfoss acquires US energy developer
The Danish engineering and tech company Danfoss has boosted its portfolio in the US after acquiring the US alternative energy developer UQM Technologies. Colorado-based UQM has more than 50 years of experience within propulsion systems for electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell compressor drives, and it will become part of the Danfoss Power Solutions segment. The deal is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2019.

Ørsted tentative in Taiwan
The Danish power company Ørsted has suspended its part in the construction of a wind-power facility construction in Taiwan. Ørsted cited an unstable investment environment due to the government in Taiwan proposing a feed-in tariff cut of 12.71 percent in late 2018 as the reason for suspending its position. For contracts not completed yet, price negotiations will be renegotiated as Ørsted assesses whether or not to continue investing in Taiwan. Ørsted has invested upwards of 650 million kroner in Taiwan since 2016.