O-I Glass is set to reduce its CO2 emissions in the UK by using vegetable oil to transport its spirits bottles.

The spirits bottles manufactured at its Alloa, Scotland facility will be transported to customers in Ireland in transport using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) rather than diesel fuel.

The world’s largest container glass manufacturer said this would reduce its transport-related emissions by approximately 75%. 

HVO, classified as a second-generation biofuel, is derived entirely from renewable waste materials. 

Unlike traditional fossil fuels, HVO offers a sustainable alternative that curtails carbon emissions. 

O-I estimates the reduction in CO2 emissions equates to an annual reduction of up to 189 tons of CO2emissions, or the equivalent electricity to power 34 homes for a year. 

Included in this is the offset of the CO2 emissions associated with transporting bottles from O-I’s plant in Alloa, Scotland, to the warehouse in Northern Ireland by utilising HVO elsewhere. 

Therefore, O-I’s spirits customers in Ireland – and the end consumers – are assured that the transport-related CO2 emissions from bottle plant to bottling plant are minimised and reduced by approximately 75%. 

The new scheme started on April 1.