Reducing The Impact on the Climate

Pernod Ricard makes every effort to reduce atmospheric emissions caused by its operations. The Group is committed to limiting its harmful impact on the environment and improving its overall performance in environmental matters.


REDUCING CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS

Pernod Ricard takes action to control carbon dioxide emissions from its operations.
In 2007-2008, direct carbon dioxide emissions from production sites totalled 300,000 tons, a reduction of 163,000 tons.

In 2007-2008, Pernod Ricard conducted a carbon dioxide study in order to gain ground in its fight against global warming. The study assessed the impact of two production and sales subsidiaries, used as representatives of the Group’s operations. The subsidiaries studied were :

  • Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay, produced in Australia and distributed in the United Kingdom, 
  • Chivas Regal whisky, produced in Scotland and sold on the Chinese market. 

This study was conducted using “Bilan Carbone®”, a method of carbon dioxide assessment developed by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME). It calculates the total carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released over the course of a product lifecycle. This includes emissions directly released during the production and distribution phases, as well as those released by the Group’s suppliers when manufacturing purchased products, such as packaging materials. 

The results enable the Group to rank each step in the product lifecycle according to its impact on carbon dioxide generation. Thy also help define the Group’s priority actions in terms of the environment. The Group has thus established the following priorities :

  • controlling packaging quantities,
  • reducing direct energy consumption, 
  • practicing sustainable farming.

Pernod Ricard intends to continue its study and extend it to other Group products and business units.


REDUCING THE GROUP’S CARBON FOOTPRINT AND PRIORITISING NATURAL SOLUTIONS

Beyond simply improving its energy efficiency, the Group also aims to move towards “cleaner” energy.


Reducing greenhouse gas emissions during production

  • The Group’s participation in the “Energy Trophy” contest helped raise employees’ awareness of this issue.

The distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky in the United States initiated a programme to replace its old coal and gas boilers with hybrid models using wood. Waste materials will be used as combustible fuel (wood pallets).

  • Pernod Ricard New Zealand chose to use the only electricity supplier certified as “carbon neutral”. 

 When possible, opt for simple and natural solutions

  • The light fixtures at the wine and spirit warehouse at Casa Pedro Domecq in Mexico were replaced with natural light. 
  • Pernod Ricard New Zealand chose to use the only electricity supplier certified as “carbon neutral”.

Preserving the ozone layer

Gases used in refrigeration equipment (refrigerators, air conditioning units, etc.) may contain chlorine or fluorine, gases known to contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer.

In 2007-2008, Pernod Ricard stabilised the total volume of fluorinated gases released into the atmosphere at 2,297kg, the same level as the previous year. Over the same period, the percentage of fluorinated gas emissions which are not harmful to the ozone layer increased from 20 to 24%.

Since 2005, all Pernod Ricard industrial refrigeration sites have been checked.
The survey concluded that :


  • waste emissions of chlorinated refrigeration gases remain very low,
  • most subsidiaries have plans to replace HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) gases by environmentally neutral HFCs (hydroflurocarbons).