Reduce: Lightweighting

Lightweighting of PET Bottles

The 550-mL Suntory Tennensui natural mineral water PET bottle (excluding products for vending machines) was developed by Suntory and is the lightest such bottle made in Japan^* (11.9 g).
The bottle design reduces the use of fossil-fuel-derived materials by approximately 40% per bottle compared with conventional bottles (13.5 g). For the 2-L version, we were the first in Japan to achieve a 2-L bottle of less than 30 g by reducing the weight by approximately 20% to 29.8 g per bottle from conventional bottles (36.2 g).

• *
  PET bottles for mineral water (500 mL to 600 mL) in Japan. As of April 2023

Change in Weight of 550-mL Suntory Tennensui PET Bottles^*1

• *1
  500-mL capacity through 2009

Change in Weight of 2-L Suntory Tennensui PET Bottles

Thinnest Roll Label^*1 for PET Bottle Beverages in Japan

We are reducing the weight of product labels on PET bottles to reduce their environmental impact. We achieved the thinnest PET bottle roll label in Japan at 16 micrometers (㎛^*2) in 2012. We launched an even thinner label of 12 ㎛for the 2-L and 550-mL PET bottles of the Suntory Tennensui natural mineral water in April 2014. Thereafter, we have been extending the label to all of our products that use roll labels. This has allowed us to reduce CO₂ emissions by 25%^*3 compared to the existing (16 ㎛) labels.

• *1
  Labels that peel off from the glued area instead of peeling off at the perforations
• *2
  1/1,000 mm
• *3
  Reduction rate in the film (label) manufacturing process

12 ㎛ thick roll label, thinnest in Japan

Introduction of water-based flexographic printing and water-developed flexo plates to reduce CO₂ emissions during label manufacturing

Suntory is advancing the switch to water-based flexographic printing for the manufacturing of labels for a wide range of products, including "Suntory Green Tea Iyemon," "Suntory Natural Water," "Suntory Oolong Tea," "GREEN DA･KA･RA," and "GREEN DA･KA･RA Barley Tea," reducing CO₂ emissions during label production by more than half compared to traditional oil-based gravure printing. Moreover, in 2024, the water-developed flexo plates, which can reduce CO₂ emissions by about 30% during label plate production, were introduced for the first time^*1 in the domestic beverage industry for the labels of “Suntory Natural Water” 550ml PET bottles manufactured at the Suntory Kyushu Kumamoto Plant.

• *1:
  Based on our research

Lightest PET Bottle Caps in Japan

We are also reducing our environmental impact for the bottle caps on PET bottles. Since September 2016, we have adopted 1.85-g bottle caps, which are the lightest in Japan^*1 and use 30% plant-derived material, for the Suntory Minami-Alps Tennensui natural mineral water. This innovation reduces the use of fossil-fuel-derived material by 35%^*2 and decreases CO₂ emissions by 27% compared to conventional PET bottle caps.
In addition, in March 2019 we introduced polyethylene caps^*3 made of 100% plant-derived ethylene on a limited basis for the 550-mL Suntory Aso Tennensui natural mineral water, which is manufactured at our Kyushu Kumamoto Plant.

• *1
  As of April 2024
• *2
  Per bottle of the Suntory Tennensui natural mineral water (550 mL)
• *3
  Polyethylene caps with 100% plant-derived ethylene as the main raw material. Excluding trace amounts of fossil-fuel-derived components and colorant components at the time of production line changeover.

Adopting Technology to PET Bottle for Spirits Products

We are taking great advantage of the technology cultivated in our soft drink business in our spirits business. Suntory Spirits Ltd. has launched the 4-L PET bottle weighing 110 g, which is the lightest in Japan, to whisky products such as Kakubin, Torys and other alcoholic products starting from June 2016. By making it up to 18% lighter than the conventional 134 g or 120 g, the use of PET resin is reduced, resulting in an annual CO₂ emissions reduction of approximately 460 tons (17%)^*. We have also removed the grip used on conventional PET bottles and adopted a new deep grip section in the center of the bottle for ease of use in collaboration with the PET bottle manufacturer.

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  Based on our calculations

Old 4-L PET bottle and
new lightweight 4-L PET bottle

Development of World’s Lightest^* Heat-resistant PET Bottle in Southeast Asia Leveraging Japanese Technological Capabilities

The Japanese manufacturing technology and design capabilities for reducing weight of PET bottles have been used in Group companies in Europe and Asia. In 2020, we succeeded in developing the world’s lightest^* PET bottle weighing 15 g in heat-resistant filled containers that also pursue functionality, versatility, and design. This heat-resistant PET bottle utilizes technology that prevents deformation of the bottle by dropping nitrogen to create positive pressure.
We have introduced this bottle to Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand) and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage (Vietnam). We also have started using 100% recycled materials for these bottles from 2023.

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  In the 450-mL class of heat-resistant PET bottles (as of April 2024, according to our own research)

Lightest Heat-Resistant Bottle with Liquid Nitrogen Injection in Southeast Asia

PET Bottle Self-Manufacturing Technology at Suntory Global Spirits

Suntory Global Spirits has been introducing its first bottle self-manufacturing technology for 1.75-L spirits since 2017. This self-manufacturing process has enabled weight reduction of bottles by 14%. Transporting preforms instead of bottles has greatly improved efficiency in transport, contributing to the reduction of environmental impact.
We introduced even lighter bottles in 2023, and reduced the bottle weight by approximately 26% compared to the weight before the 2017 self-manufacturing project. We are also considering using the self-manufactured bottle technology obtained through this initiative to further expand to other capacities, such as 100 mL to 1 L.