Diageo to fund new plant to promote recycled aluminum to Guinness and Gordon’s

The UK will lead the way in creating a more sustainable aluminum supply chain. And to achieve this, Diageo announced that it will provide financing to a new consortium that will build a new aluminum plant. The facility will provide recycled aluminum for more than 400 million cans of Guinness and Gordon’s and premixed tonics, significantly reducing Diageo’s carbon emissions.

Specifically, Diageo will provide funding to establish the British Aluminium Consortium for Advanced Alloys (BACALL), a collective of industry experts that will create a circular economy for aluminum in the UK. Currently, to recycle and remanufacture cans, the UK relies on an energy-intensive supply chain that relies on unsustainable export and import of aluminum.

Another objective will be to establish a new circular economy supply chain for aluminum. This initiative will maintain aluminum recycling in the UK and consolidate its position as a leader in the adoption of carbon reduction and manufacturing.

Specifically, Diageo’s 10-year sustainability action plan will focus on increasing the use of recycled aluminum with Guinness cans made from 100% recycled material, reducing the carbon emissions required to export and import aluminum foil, reducing dependence on the raw materials needed to create aluminum by contributing to a reduction in Diageo’s Scope 3 carbon emissions, as the plant will use 95% less energy in the production of its aluminum foil compared to traditional primary production methods.

Ewan Andrew, Global Supply Chain and Procurement & Chief Sustainability Officer at Diageo, commented: “We are excited to be part of a project that will ultimately change aluminum production in the UK. We are now looking to work in partnership with business and government to not only reduce the carbon footprint of aluminum, but also to bring this part of the aluminum supply chain back to the UK.”

David Sneddon, non-executive director of BACALL Aluminium Ltd, stated that “aluminum is one of the most recyclable materials on the planet, yet the more than 15 billion cans manufactured in the UK rely on an energy-intensive supply chain, which requires aluminum to move in and out of the country. By sourcing, recycling, manufacturing and supplying aluminum flat rolled sheet in the UK, we can localize and close the supply chain, providing substantial reductions in carbon emissions. This will help create a more sustainable aluminum industry and secure future capacity for ultra-low carbon alloys.”

Also Geoff Scamans, Professor of Metallurgy at Brunel University remarked: “Aluminum has the potential to be zero carbon, but the whole supply chain needs to see a dramatic reduction in emissions. The UK currently exports much of its aluminum scrap, but at the same time, it imports almost all of its aluminum foil. By changing this, we should see a significant reduction in carbon footprint. I applaud Diageo and BACALL for starting this process.”
Finally, Diageo has been working with BACALL since 2021 when Diageo jointly funded a feasibility study with the UK Government (through Innovate UK) on whether and how a large-scale circular economy strategy could be adopted across the aluminum sector tailored to the UK.