Roots

Because we believe in growing a wholly sustainable supply chain, business, region and planet – from the roots up.

At Tennent’s Direct we follow the C&C ESG vision of ‘Delivering to a better world’ – tackling the challenges we face from an Environmental, Social & Governance point of view.

Carbon Reduction

C&C have committed to reduce our *Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 35% and our Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030, versus 2019/2020. We have also pledged to be a carbon neutral business by 2050. We are currently working with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to validate our carbon reduction targets to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and help limit global warming to well below 2°C.

Wellpark

The home of Tennent’s Direct – and Tennent’s Lager – our Wellpark site in Glasgow has taken major strides in recent years to be more sustainable.

In October 2019, we installed an Anaerobic Digestion (treatment of wastewater) system at Wellpark.   This has improved the quality of wastewater discharge from Wellpark into the water treatment plant at Dalmarnock by 90%.

In November 2020, a £2.6million carbon capture facility, the largest of its kind in Scotland, was installed at Wellpark. This allows the brewery to store over 4,200 tonnes of CO2 per year – which is the same amount as 27,000 return flights from London to Glasgow!

From 1 April 2021, 99% of the electricity at Wellpark and across our distribution network, comes from renewable sources.

There are also 16 solar panel assisted trucks for our drinks deliveries throughout the Scottish network. This has reduced fuel consumption by 5% and lowered CO2 emissions by C100 tonnes, allowing us to deliver with the environment in mind. We also continue to investigate alternative fuel types for vehicles, electric vehicles for Wellpark to Cambuslang trips, and hydrogen for longer distances.

Sustainable sourcing

The only way we can achieve our Scope 3 targets is by collaborating with our supply chain partners. A critical step in developing this, is our new ‘Ethical and Sustainable Procurement Strategy’. Considering wider social and ethical issues, including climate change, this approach includes asking our partners to report their climate and water performance via CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), encouraging them to set science-based emission reduction targets, and engaging our supply chain to understand how they manage their climate change risks, as well as their overall ethical approach.

In 2021, we signed up to participate in the CDP Supply Chain Screening Programme. This will see us work with 120 strategic supply chain partners, requesting them to take a science-based approach in disclosing their climate-related information – which will allow us to measure environmental impacts and collaborate on how we meet carbon reduction targets.

Recognising our approach, in February 2022, CDP awarded C&C Group an A-rating for Supplier Engagement, acknowledging our performance on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement in the CDP Climate Change questionnaire.

As part of our work with SBTi, we’ve committed that suppliers and customers making up 67% of our Scope 3 emissions, will have science-based targets in place by 2026.

Supplier Highlight - Tennent’s Lager

‘Because life is bigger than beer’. Launched in 2019, Tennent’s pledged to more sustainable brewing, to create a better world for everyone. The campaign focused on renewable energy, local sourcing, removal of plastics, carbon emissions and waste management.

Tennent’s Lager is committed to using 100% Scottish Barley and fresh water from Loch Katrine. This support of Scottish economy invests in over 100 farmers across Scotland.

During COP26 last year, Tennent’s Lager committed to add a “Please Enjoy Sustainably” message on all cans to encourage recycling, reduce littering and benefit the environment. While recycling logos are widely carried on canned products, it is hoped that this more direct call-to-action on the 120 million cans filled on average every year, will encourage drinkers to increase recycling.

Tennent’s Lager was the first brewer to join the UK Plastics Pact. Following a £7million investment, the ‘Out of Plastics’ campaign saw the removal of single use plastic from all canned products, including 150tonnes of plastic and +100million plastic rings, and switched to fully recyclable cardboard.

Awareness of this campaign saw 51% of non-Tennent's drinkers claiming a more positive impression of the brand, with 15% more likely to consider purchasing.

Other ESG initiatives at Tennent’s includes, being the first and largest alcohol brand to support the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing, further encouraging the responsible consumption of alcohol by introducing nutritional information and the CMO recommended drinking guidelines on packaging, and launching Tennent’s Zero (no alcohol) and Tennent’s Light (Scotland’s lowest calorie beer); working with longstanding charity partner, The Benevolent Society of Scotland; and working with grassroots creative talent in Scotland through the ‘Spotlight Project’.

Watch this space for more supplier stories!

Want to get involved or learn more about our various Roots initiatives? Please get in touch via one of our social media channels below...

*SCOPE 1: All Direct Emissions from the activities of an organisation or under their control; SCOPE 2: Indirect Emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organisation; SCOPE 3: All Other Indirect Emissions (purchased goods, downstream transport and use of sold goods).