Verallia & Sustainable Glass Innovation: The ECOVA range

Glass is one of the world’s most versatile and impactful materials. While always naturally occurring, glass was first formed by humans over 4000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia, through mixing sand, soda and lime. 

Glass has for centuries made up our windows, surfaces and containers.

It's a multi-purpose material, enabling us to contain and protect precious belongings and liquids whilst also inspecting their contents.

We frequently overlook the importance of glass, which to be transparent, is a mistake.

It's a material with immense value to society and to global manufacturing.

The global market value of glass bottles and containers alone is forecast to grow to US$96.4bn by 2029. 

Companies like Verallia are redefining how glass is produced, reused and recycled through its newly announced sustainable ECOVA bottle range.

Verallia: Sustainable Bottles for a sustainable future 

With around 10,000 employees and 34 glass production facilities in 12 countries, Verallia is the world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products.

The company manufactures 16 billion glass bottles and jars per year, supplying 10,000 businesses worldwide. 

Driven by the global purpose to ‘reimagine glass for a sustainable future’ Verallia has created the ECOVA range, which brings both ecology and value together within bottles. 

The ECOVA range contains sustainable off-the-shelf glass packaging solutions which will help reduce Co2 emissions by 46% by 2030 and thus contribute to decarbonisation. 

The bottles which weigh only 500g, are engineered to be significantly lighter to reduce carbon emissions for Verallia and its clients.

“Our off-the-shelf range of bottles have always had sustainability at the heart of them, but the ECOVA range takes it to the next level,” Michael Hogley, Verallia UK Director of NPD says.

“As consumer’s views on sustainability have evolved, we wanted to ensure that we have the most sustainable premium spirit bottle options available.” 

The glass in the ECOVA is zero waste on-site, all being fully reusable.

Verallia accesses a wider cullet from external sources, to create the ECOVA range from 51% recycled content- far higher than the industry norm. 

These glass bottle solutions are sturdy and sustainable, protecting products whilst advancing sustainability.

The ECOVA range: built around consumer taste

“Consumers' mindset is changing,” adds Michael. “They are now much more conscious about sustainable products, leading to them looking for brands that have made active choices around their packaging.

"With this in mind, we knew a new standard of off-the-shelf glass needed to be developed.” 

The ECOVA range includes four new designs, named Vita, Terra, Caeli and Patet, all tailored to specific groups of spirits. 

For example, vita, designed after a traditional sake bottle, is ideal for enjoying whisky, rum and vodka.

The bottles have also been designed to not require divisions when packed into a pallet, which increases the average pallet by 200 bottles.

This reduces the amount of packaging needed to transport and distribute the bottles, making shipping far more efficient and less carbon-intensive. 

Verallia’s commitment to sustainable glass bottle development continues, as the manufacturer seeks to deliver higher recycled content and reduce carbon further.

“With the launch of our ECOVA range, we hope to give spirit brands an opportunity to serve their customers with the confidence that they not only champion their green values, but also ensuring that they can showcase their premium credentials in a great-looking bottle,” Michael concludes.

****** 

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Manufacturing Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Procurement & Supply Chain 2024 & Sustainability LIVE 2024
******
Manufacturing Digital is a BizClik brand.