Can we reduce plastic waste if we stick together? Probably.

This was the mindset that led to launch of the most impactful sustainability initiative in the history of Carlsberg, the Snap Pack.

News of the sustainable design that reduced 76% of plastic packaging on six packs of beer. The story got positive coverage across the globe, from journalists at CNN, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian, The Independent to institutions like WWF and World Economic Forum, gathering a total of 1.5 billion earned media impressions and counting.

More importantly, it put Carlsberg’s commitment to sustainable design in the hands of consumers.

Carlsberg has introduced an innovative new packaging solution for its six packs: The Snap Pack.

The Snap Pack replaces the plastic wrapping traditionally used around six packs with a pioneering technology that glues the cans together, reducing the amount of plastic used by up to 76%. Three years in the making, the Snap Pack is one of a number of Carlsberg’s sustainable packaging solutions launched in September 2018.

The innovations represent the first of a series of consumer-facing manifestations of the Carlsberg Group’s sustainability programme, Together Towards ZERO, which include ambitions of a ZERO carbon footprint and ZERO water waste. They were first applied on the flagship Carlsberg brand to drive constant reappraisal and refinement.

This helped to further substantiate the iconic tagline of ‘Probably the Best Beer in the World’ in a meaningful way - giving consumers a great tasting beer that also helps them reduce their environmental impact.

Plastic shrink-wrapping and rings are used to hold together multipacks of canned drinks, particularly beers.

This has been an industry-wide standard packaging device for more than 50 years, but they have become an environmental scourge – contributing to the growing ocean plastic pollution and posing a threat to marine life and to the image of the world´s global brewers.

The Snap Pack is a sustainable packaging solution that “sticks” the cans together in a multipack form - allowing users to easily “snap” them apart when required.

As part of an overall commitment toward energy neutrality and a zero carbon footprint, Carlsberg wanted to show consumers and other breweries that it is possible to reduce the plastic waste and environmental impact of the brewing industry, because more than 40% value chain carbon footprint comes from packaging.

Fundamentally, the strategy was based on creating an innovative product and packaging design, that would make the world talk.

One of the main insights was a huge discrepancy between the intent to buy sustainable products and the willingness to pay a premium. Intent dropped about 70% if the price was just marginally higher. So the premise was to create a sustainable option at the same price point.

The PR strategy for the launch of the Snap Pack was also based largely on early endorsement by key stakeholders with credibility in the sustainability area.

In September 2018 the revolutionary Snap Pack was revealed to the world. At a press conference, Carlsberg CEO, Cees T’Hart showed how this new Snap Pack was deeply rooted in Carlsberg’s philosophy of “betterments for the good of everyone” dating back to the its founder JC Jacobsen.

With this press conference, Carlsberg cemented that the design for sustainability wasn’t just a one-off, but a small piece of a much larger puzzle in the ambitious “together towards zero” plan for a carbon and energy neutral future.

In the week following the launch, key Carlsberg employees from C-suite, to innovation and marketing gave interviews to local and global media, who naturally took the story of the company that was reinventing the six pack. And big NGOs followed up with messages of support.

Aside from the substantial 1200 tonnes of plastic waste Carlsberg is set to reduce annually, the Snap Pack design has been a very visible and tangible spearhead of brands ongoing sustainability initiatives, by putting their commitment in the hands of consumers.

The design and campaign have earned more than 1.5 billion earned media impression and counting. With unanimously positive coverage across the globe from journalists at CNN, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian, The Independent and institutions like WWF and World Economic Forum.

Since the launch in Denmark, Carlsberg has seen a 19% increase in the sales of six packs. In the UK, the country’s largest retailer, TESCO, has now started selling Carlsberg, because of the packaging. Since launching the Snap Pack last year, Carlsberg has seen a 6% increase in global growth.

To date, Carlsberg has sold over 30 million litres of beer in Snap Packs. After the initial success, Carlsberg aims to roll out the Snap Pack in more markets across the globe, and are hoping other breweries will follow their example.