HMSHost International puts sustainability firmly on the menu by introducing Vrumona’s 100 percent recycled plastic (rPET) Sourcy mineral water at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. From this month onwards, all locally sourced bottled water at HMSHost stores at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will switch over to the rPET bottles, boosting the company’s 2030 sustainability goals and nationally launching Sourcy’s move to 100 percent rPET bottles.
Sustainability is a strong feature of the long-term partnership between HMSHost International and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Together they are working to reach their goals around zero waste and a circular economy by 2030. With annual sales of around 30 million PET bottles, HMSHost International highlighted this as a high impact opportunity for sustainability savings across its 19 countries. Back in 2019, rPET made up around 14 percent of the raw materials for HMSHost’s bottled beverages. This initiative, amongst others, boosts the company’s rPET ratio to about 85 percent in 2021, and is estimated to save around 200,000kg of virgin plastic and 150,000kg of CO2. Perfectly in line with the company’s sustainability catchphrase ‘start somewhere’, and positively contributing to making the world a better place.
“We think it is beautiful and symbolic that this traditional Dutch water with the Dutch flag and lion in its logo is now being sold at our national airport. For us it was a precondition that the PET bottle should consist of 100 percent rPET. When you consider that we sell 12,000 bottles of water at Schiphol every day (in a normal year), we are taking an important step in making our business operations more sustainable by choosing Sourcy and 100 percent rPET. We are extremely proud of the strong foundation in our new partnership." said HMSHost’s Vice President Commercial, Bastiaan van Asten.
HMSHost is the first company to stock Sourcy’s new 100 percent rPET bottles, an opportunity which motivated the brand to fast-track their own sustainability plans by two years. The launch signals the national roll-out of the brand’s 100 percent rPET water bottles, which is planned to extend further across their range of bottled drinks – with sparkling and flavored water joining the range in February.
“With the choice of 100 percent rPET, Sourcy will become the most sustainable mineral water for the Dutch market in PET. Because the mineral water comes from the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, it travels the least kilometers to the Dutch consumer. The water is already contained in sustainable packaging, which will become even more sustainable in 2021. By using 100 percent recycled plastic, we are one step closer to our ‘bottle to bottle’ philosophy: by making an effort to collect and recycle the plastic bottles, every bottle becomes a bottle again,“ shared Vrumona’s Out Of Home Director Ferry Poppegaai.
“Schiphol is working towards becoming the most sustainable airport in the world. Together with our retail and catering business partners, we contribute to this by, for example, looking at waste reduction and the reuse of materials. We are very pleased with this initiative by HMSHost and Sourcy to sell mineral water at our airport in 100 percent recycled PET bottles from now on. In line with this, initiatives will follow in 2021 to stimulate travelers to recycle PET bottles at Schiphol, which will make an important contribution to our zero waste target for 2030. ” said Irene Muysson, head of retail, food & beverage and commercial services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Keeping the momentum, HMSHost International and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol have their eye on extending the sustainability journey for plastics at the airport. They are working together to launch new reverse vending machines to collect used bottles, ensuring that each bottle from the airport can become a new recycled bottle, creating more savings amongst lost plastic.
