Pernod Ricard halts use of plastic straws and stirrers

©Kichigin Aleksandr via 123RF

The drinks industry has been guilty of using plastic straws and stirrers for decades and following the rebirth of cocktails, there has been an explosion in their usage adorning glasses globally. A straw which is only used on average for 20 minutes can take more than 200 years to break down into smaller pieces and often does not fully disintegrate.

Paul Scanlon, the managing director of Pernod Ricard South Africa says: “Social responsibility is engrained in each and every single employee that forms part of the Pernod Ricard Group, so much so that it has become a part of our global, corporate DNA. We refuse and will continue to refuse products and services that detrimentally impact the environment, especially if it can be helped. Our future goal as a company is to move in a more mindful manner, making better, more conscious decisions along the way. If we all adopt this mentality, together, we can actually make the change that we wish to see in the world”.

Along with contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Pernod Ricard says it is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. Pernod Ricard’s 2020 Roadmap includes reducing its waste to landfills with an ambitious goal: from 913 tonnes today to 0 by 2020.