NBC to introduce environmental friendly ultra-glass bottles

As part of its commitment to reduce environmental pollution caused as a result of its business, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc (NBC) has introduced new ultra glass bottles.

Compared with the old bottles, the new lightweight ultra glass bottles for Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite have been expanded by 0.1mm in width and reduced by 13mm in height.

They were developed using new design software that helps determine the stress points and optimum weight of a glass bottle. This allows technicians to create the strongest and lightest viable design. The ultra glass technology uses a set of principles which can be used on all glass designs to improve performance and reduce the glass weight per bottle.

Recently at the Media launch in Abuja, the Managing Director of NBC, Mr. Roland Ebelt said that NBC is introducing the innovative Ultra glass bottles due to its “commitment to reducing the impact of our business on the environment at every level.

This is such that we adapted even our most precious assets, including the glass ‘Coca-Cola’ Contour bottle to ensure a sustainable operating environment.”

Mr. Ebelt is happy that advances in technology have enabled the company to improve on the famous ‘Coca-Cola’ bottle design among others. “The bottles are now remarkably lighter and there is a significant reduction in the amount of raw glass materials used as well as the level of CO2 emission in their production. “The new bottles are much stronger than the original,” he added.

The NBC boss noted that the Company has been carrying out projects aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of business activities and products, by integrating principles of environmental stewardship and sustainable development into its day-to-day business operations.

He further explained that, “earlier this year, our parent company, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company SA made a commitment to build 15 combined heat and power plants (CHPs) in 12 countries over the next two years. Combined Heat and Power ( CHP ) energy involves the use of natural gas to produce electricity while the heat generated is used to heat up the water for our bottle washers. Our Ikeja Plant will be one of the first recipients of these power plants which will reduce our carbon emissions considerably, once in operation,” he analyzed.

The Company’s Commercial Director for the Northern Region, Mr. Funmi Alli was optimistic that the innovative ultra glass bottles will provide a strong lead to the current momentum for the food and drink sector to deliver major environmental and supply chain benefits that customers are increasingly demanding.

He further disclosed that NBC is taking a remarkable action against other forms of emissions in the use of cold drink equipment. “Our new electric coolers have lower energy requirements, thanks to their design and cooling mechanism,” he stated.