Coors Light, Samira Amin on Corporate Sustainability

In a recent announcement, Molson Coors shared that the company has set its sights on Coors Light becoming the largest beer brand in North America to move away from plastic rings.

On March 1st, 2022, Coors Light announced that it will be eliminating plastic rings from packaging globally, where Molson Coors owns brewing operations. To support the move to more sustainable packaging, Molson Coors Beverage Company will invest $85 million, enabling Coors Light to begin the transition to fully recyclable and sustainably sourced cardboard-wrap carriers later this year.

Marketing News Canada had the opportunity to chat with Samira Amin, the Senior Marketing Manager for Coors Light at Molson Coors, and ask some questions regarding Coors Light’s outlook on corporate sustainability. As a massive corporation, Molson Coors Beverage Company is setting the standard for a better, more sustainable future in the industry with Coors Light at the helm.

Coors Light recently became the largest beer brand in North America to move away from plastic rings. How has this change impacted your business operations?

We are starting to update and install the new equipment now, and Coors Light products will begin the transition to the new packaging within the year – starting in Western Canada. All Coors Light products, and Molson Coors products in North America, will be fully transitioned by the end of 2025 – and in Canada specifically, the transition will be done by the end of 2023. AND by the way! All Molson Coors products (that currently use plastic rings) will benefit from this transition – so more than 30 brands will get out of plastic rings by the same timeline.

How does Coors Light measure its environmental and social impact?

In this case, we are measuring our environmental impact by the amount of plastic waste reduced per year. Our new fully recyclable, and sustainably sourced cardboard packaging will reduce our plastic footprint by 400,000 pounds of plastic PER YEAR in North America, 30,000 right here in Canada!

Coors Light is known for setting ambitious goals when it comes to sustainability. What motivates your brand in making these goals?

Earth needs our help and that is what constantly motivates us. Single-use plastic is polluting the environment. Water resources are limited, and global temperatures are rising faster than ever. We’re chill about a lot of things, but this is not one of them. That’s why we are committing to making our packaging more sustainable, to help the earth keep its chill.

What steps have you implemented in your Marketing communications plan to roll out your latest announcement?

This was a concerted North American announcement that is supported by PR, print/digital ads in the Globe & Mail and La Presse+, social media and more. As we begin to roll out the packaging within the year, we’ll look to execute in-store visibility opportunities in partnership with retailers.

How will you measure the success of your PR efforts for this transition?

Similar to the launch of other brand initiatives, we’ll continue to distribute updates and notable achievements to the media. Our goal is to be an industry and category leader, setting new standards for the beer and beverage industry. Our PR success will be measured through positive conversations among media, key opinion leaders, and consumers stemming from our announcement.

How can customers make their voices heard by larger brands in regards to corporate sustainability and social responsibility?

Continue to be curious about how we can individually be accountable, from big actions to small actions, like everyday purchases. For us, we believe that buying beer shouldn’t mean buying plastic - our business, and Coors in particular, has a long history of using packaging innovation to protect our environment, and today we are building on that rich legacy.
In 1959, Coors revolutionized the beverage industry when it debuted the two-piece recyclable aluminum can. Despite the five years and millions invested in the development of the recyclable can, Coors did not patent the new packaging. Instead, Coors actively encouraged other beverage makers to embrace the recyclable can which led to a recycling revolution.

Any words of advice for other corporations looking to make more sustainable efforts?

As you know, our business, and Coors in particular, has a long history of using packaging innovation to protect our environment, and with the recent announcement, we are building on that rich legacy. Once again, we want to be the change we see in the world – so for us and likely other corporations, that means looking at our own processes and deciding what we can do to make a meaningful difference and committing to the investment. To us, we think it’s a small price to pay to reduce our single-use environmental footprint.

The Molson Coors investment will upgrade packaging machinery, which will also allow the company’s entire North American portfolio of brands to advance to cardboard wrap carriers by the end of 2025. The Canadian transition to cardboard packaging will begin next year and is planned to be completed by the end of 2023.

For more information on the future goals of the Molson Coors Beverage Company and its Sustainability Reporting, visit the website linked here.

Samira Amin is the Senior Marketing Manager at Molson Coors Beverage Company.

Written by Emma Whiten, Marketing News Canada