Pernod Ricard GTR adds tool to analyse the carbon footprint of gifts with purchases

Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail (PR GTR) has announced the new EcoGift tool, which assesses the sustainability of a gift with purchase (GWP) throughout its lifecycle.

The tool was developed in partnership with B Corp certified sustainable design consultancy Pie Factory. It takes all the information, from the manufacturing, packaging and transportation of the product, and grades it according to a traffic light system. This enables analysis of whether or not each step of the process is meeting the necessary sustainability standards.

Pie Factory sustainability director Simon Evans said: “It has been an exciting challenge to partner with Pernod Ricard to build a tool that will promote Circular Making and deliver environmental improvement through life cycle thinking”.

EcoGift follows on from PR GTR’s Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) Tool for Merchandising, launched in 2021. During the first six months of its application, LCA resulted in a carbon reduction of 48% and is now used on 100% of PR GTR’s retail projects.

The first application of EcoGift enabled the PR GTR team to achieve a 34% reduction in the carbon footprint of a new trolley bag. The tool showed that moving from the rigid design to a foldable one made from RPET reclaimed from recycled plastic bottles substantially reduced the energy used in its production.

These foldable trolley bags are each made from 12 50cl plastic bottles (all purchased from suppliers with the GRS Global Recycle Certificate). Logistical changes were also made in the name of sustainability, such as using fewer containers and removing single-use polybags.

The foldable trolley and weekend bags will initially come with Royal Salute branding and will be available at the JTO Duty Free Shop in Jeju, Korea, first, with other markets to follow later this year.

PR GTR chairman and CEO Mohit Lal said: “We know that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their carbon footprint and the impact of their behaviour and purchasing decisions. This is perhaps even more acute in the travel retail context, considering the rise of ‘planet-first’ destination choice, and the search for meaningful travel experiences.”

Lal concluded: “Technology has a key role to play in ensuring that sustainability is truly embedded within business and innovation process. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

Earlier this year, PR GTR unveiled a virtual duty free experience for purchasing Royal Salute.

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