4 February 2021. The commitment made by Aguas Danone with the environment and the circular economy, has been recognised by AENOR, which has granted the company the certificate that guarantees that its rPET plastic bottles indicated in the certification are made entirely of recycled plastic. This achievement makes Aguas Danone the first company in the natural mineral water sector to receive this distinction from AENOR.
"AENOR's recognition endorses our commitment to offering our products without extracting new resources from the planet and helps us to offer a guarantee to consumers," says François-Xavier Lacroix, General Manager of Aguas Danone. He further adds: "Having achieved this certification at this very complicated time and being able to state that we are the first in the sector, make us feel proud and encourages us to continue in our strive to offer our products in the most sustainable way possible."
According to Rafael García Meiro, CEO of AENOR, this certification "places value on Aguas Danone's clear and decisive commitment to sustainability, transparency and to offering consumers the chance to make a responsible purchase. In this regard, AENOR's certification also has the unique ability in our market to effectively communicate this commitment to the values shared by society. "
Aguas Danone will be adding the logo that identifies this certification to the formats that it currently manufacturers with 100% rPET deriving from other bottles, which are initially: 75cl Font Vella, 75cl and 50cl Lanjarón, and in catering; 1.5L and 50cl Font Vella bottles.
Aguas Danone also plans to have this certification in all its rPET bottles by 2025 time when the entire portfolio will be made of this material. Specifically for Lanjarón, it is estimated that by the end of this year all the brand's products will manufactured with 100% post-consumer recycled rPET plastic.
To grant this certification, AENOR carried out a documentary analysis of the procedures used by Aguas Danone to ensure the use of post-consumer recycled material and also conducted an on site audit at the organisation's facilities. During this audit, it was verified how the organisation ensures the post-consumer origin of the rPET material it uses, verifying the audits performed by Aguas Danone and by independent entities at the supplier's facilities, as well as the complete production process of the 'preforms' made at the installations, from the reception of this raw material in tanks to the final injection of the preform that will be converted into a bottle at the Font Vella and Lanjar bottling plants.
Aguas Danone started using rPET recycled plastic over 10 years ago when it first incorporated this material into a Lanjarón bottle. The company is committed to reducing the consumption of single-use plastics and advocates the need to create an optimal secondary recycling plastic market in our country, both in quantity and quality, to accelerate the transition to this type of material (rPET). As well as being able to integrate into all products by aligning the production and use of recycled plastic with the demands of society, which is increasingly concerned about responsible and sustainable consumption.
Finally, Aguas Danone's commitment to giving plastics a second life is also embodied in the Renueva (renew) project. In this regard, it has a first packaging selection plant in Montcada and Reixac (Barcelona), created together with the Fundación Trinijove y Ecoembes, where work is being done to recover packaging and its correct classification to generate new bottles of recycled plastic while at the same time setting out and giving a job opportunity to people at risk of social exclusion.
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