Reduce and Recycle Plastic Resources

Sapporo Group Plastics Policy

In order to realize a sustainable society, the Sapporo Group will contribute to the creation of a recycling-oriented society by taking the following steps to examine and tackle the plastics used in its business activities.

Review the situations in which plastics are used and eliminate unnecessary use.
Work to reduce the volume of plastic used.
Convert to highly recyclable designs, recycled materials, and biomass plastics.

Specific Efforts

Sapporo Breweries

Development and Use of Upcycled Byproduct Products

Sapporo Breweries has upcycled malt feed^*1, a byproduct of the beer production process, and developed “maltum,” a paper tumbler, by incorporating the byproduct as part of raw materials. The name “maltum” is a combination of “malt” and "tumbler.” This is a plastic-free tumbler made possible by pulp molding technology^*2. The company focused on the thinness of the rim of the tumbler to make it 0.6 mm thick so that people can enjoy drinking cold beverages with the tumbler. In 2024, the maltum tumbler was used on a trial basis at a soccer stadium in cooperation with a professional soccer team. After use, the maltum tumblers were collected separately and recycled into toilet paper, contributing to resource circulation.

*1 The husks of malt generated during the mashing process

*2 A technology that dries pulp dissolved in water to form paper

Adoption of lightweight PET bottles

4L PET bottles with handles used for shochu products were replaced with lightweight containers starting in 2022, and these have been applied to each item. This has led to a reduction of approximately 7.2 tons per year in plastic consumption and a reduction of approximately 40.4 tons per year in CO₂ emissions (based on actual sales in 2024).

POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage

Promotion of containers and packaging for a recycling-oriented society

POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage aims to achieve “100% use of containers and packaging compatible with a recycling-oriented society” in line with the Sapporo Group Containers and Packaging Vision, a goal set by the Sapporo Group to achieve a sustainable society. To achieve this goal, the company has set a target of using 50% recycled raw materials in its PET bottle products by 2030, and is promoting initiatives to achieve this goal.

The recycled PET bottles used in this initiative may be colored during the recycling process, but there is no problem with their quality or safety as containers.

Reduction of plastic use

In an effort to reduce the use of plastic, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage is working to develop label-free products and reduce the weight of PET bottles and plastic bottle containers and the use of labels on them.
In February 2023, following the launch of “Label-Free Delicious Sparkling Water (currently Label-Free Clear Tansan),” the company started selling “Label-Free Kagabo Roasted Tea” (in case units) through some sales channels. In August of the same year, the weight of the plastic bottle container of “Pokka Lemon 100 70 ml” was reduced by approximately 6%.

SAPPORO REAL ESTATE

De-plasticization Initiatives

In accordance with the enforcement of the Plastic Resources Recycling Law (April 2022), we have changed the materials of plastic consumables (straws, muddlers, caps, etc.) in our directly managed facilities (cafes and restaurants). Although we use less than the standard amount (5 tons), we will continue to promote further efforts in consideration of the spirit of the law and social demands.