‘We can make a significant difference together’

Home to renowned brands such as Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, 100 Pipers Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, The Glenlivet, Jameson Irish whiskey, Absolut, Monkey 47 among others, PernodRicardIndiahas always strived towards a circular future, with people, planet and community at the core its business. Most recently, the company set in motion a major industry first to remove permanent mono-cartons across its brand portfolio with the #OneForOurPlanet initiative which reiterates its commitment to reducing environmental impact of packaging and waste generated across each step of its value chain. With a commitment to minimising waste at every step, the company aims to produce and distribute its products in ways that optimise and help preserve natural resources, reduce carbon footprint and create water positivity. Pernod Ricard believes in “responsible retailing” and “responsible consumption practices” and envisions this initiative to become a larger movement and the consumers to turn into advocates by practicing and propagating eco-conscious consumption.

Tell us more about the #OneForOurPlanet initiative.

At Pernod Ricard India, we have continuously strived towards a circular future, with people, planet, and community at the core of our business. We have been working towards evaluating our impact on the environment and integrating sustainable processes at every step of our value chain. #OneForOurPlanet is the latest initiative which furthers our pledge towards sustainability and a better tomorrow. With this industry first initiative, we will remove 100 per cent permanent mono-cartons from our entire brand portfolio by June 2023. It is a significant step towards reducing the impact of the secondary packaging on the environment and the overflowing landfills. With continued efforts towards minimising waste at every step, we aim to produce and distribute our products in ways that optimise and help preserve natural resources, reduce carbon footprint and create water positivity. 

Is removing permanent mono-cartons from the brand portfolio the only step towards sustainability or can there be other steps to be more ‘responsible’?

As a responsible corporate citizen present in India for over 25 years, sustainability is at the core of our business. It is one of four essentials of Pernod Ricard’s growth model and is embedded in our three-year strategic business plan – ‘Transform & Accelerate’.  As an organisation of purpose, we work towards an enriched value chain that is committed to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring our business is aligned with the ‘World’s to-do list’ to help reach prosperity for the planet and its people. All our efforts and initiatives are deeply aligned with the Group’s sustainability and responsibility roadmap with four pillars including Nurturing Terroir, Valuing People, Circular Making and Responsible Hosting - address all aspects of our business from grain to glass.

Nurturing Terrior: Every Pernod Ricard product takes its character from the land where it was grown and hence to ensure we get the best of produce. This area of commitment focusses on nurturing every terroir and its biodiversity, responding to the challenges of climate change to ensure quality ingredients now and for generations to come. 

Valuing People: People are at the heart of everything we do at Pernod Ricard and the foundation of our collective spirit. We promote diversity and inclusion throughout our business and supply chain. Our community penetration programs proudly reach more than 1000 villages and nearly 25 of our plants across India. In the past two years, we have impacted 2.2 million lives, with over 110 programs. 

Responsible Hosting: We want to turn social interactions into genuine and friendly experiences of sharing and wellbeing and hence as a responsible company, we want to ensure that our brands are enjoyed responsibly. 

Circular Making: Pernod Ricard India is committed to minimising waste at every step by producing and distributing its products in ways that optimise and help preserve natural resources. Our efforts are concentrated on 4Rs ie Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recharge.

Sustainability, across the globe, has been at core of most business operations lately. How challenging can it be to get people around accept the same though everyone wants to be vocal about it?

Consumer-centricity is at the heart of our business and no campaigns or initiatives are successful without their support. In fact, since 2020, we have been working on a pilot project towards the removal of permanent mono-cartons from our packaging. In May 2022, when we finally decided to integrate this into our business in a phased manner, a key challenge was how to address the assumptions that exist with respect to packaging in the alco-bev industry. Consumers typically would associate mono-cartons with luxury and premiumness, which becomes a critical factor when deciding what alcohol to buy. #OneForOurPlanet is a bold move for us – especially with regards to taking that extra effort in changing consumers’ mindsets towards responsible consumption. 

How are you ensuring this step translates into a larger movement with the entire alco-bev industry becoming a part of this initiative?

The last decade has witnessed the F&B industry in India evaluate its impact on the environment and integrate sustainable practices in their businesses. Through our initiative #OneForOurPlanet, we aim to champion the cause of sustainable packaging and inspire our consumers to make eco-conscious purchase decisions. We believe that together we can make a significant difference and trust that our partners and customers will whole-heartedly join us in bringing ‘responsible retailing’ together with ‘responsible consumption’ practices, by cascading this environment-first initiative. We strive to lead by example with our #OneForOurPlanet initiative and to ensure consumer adoption of this initiative, we are steering a conscious consumption movement by sensitising and educating our consumers using innovative and integrated communication approach and channels. We are happy to see other industry players, climate warriors, sustainability advocates following suit and supporting our initiative.