Carbon Footprint

Climate

Since the cap was put on our very first bottle of premium tonic water, we have worked to minimise the impact that our drinks have on the environment. Whether it be our decision from conception not to use PET bottles, how we work with small specialist producers to source many of our ingredients, or our efforts exploring alternative fuels to power our manufacturing and logistics processes, we continually challenge ourselves and our partners to make the right choices.

Our journey to carbon neutrality
Measure
Reduce
Offset
Your questions answered

Measure

We annually conduct a cradle-to-grave business carbon footprint analysis, which is transparently reported to CDP. Each assessment looks at all emissions associated with our drinks across their lifecycles; from those connected to the sourcing of our ingredients and the manufacturing of our mixers to the journey they go on to reach our customers, how they are consumed, and finally their eventual disposal. Measuring our footprint enables us not only to quantify progress made, but also identify hotspots for further decarbonisation, aiding greenhouse gas reductions year-on-year.

In previous years, we explored the use of high-quality carbon offsets to enable all drinks sold in the UK to be carbon neutral from 2021 to 2023 - independently verified by the Carbon Trust. We invested in high-quality nature-based offsetting projects in regions where we source key ingredients from, such as the Isangi REDD+ Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Obtaining carbon neutrality was a great first step that accelerated our understanding of our UK emissions, enabled clear reporting, and laid a solid foundation for supply chain climate engagement. Yet we are now in a position to do more.

Action

Calculating and offsetting our footprint was just the start of our journey. To make real progress on sustainability, we know we need to put in place plans to reduce emissions – not just measure and offset them. Our responsibility to drive reductions lies ur responsibility to drive reductions lies not only across our own emissions (referred to as “Scope 1 & 2” emissions), such as changing our company cars to hybrid vehicles and effectively switching all our offices to renewable energy, but also working with our partners through our supply chain to drive reductions in our indirect emissions (known as our “Scope 3” emissions). We know we can’t do this alone and are working ever closer with our partners to identify and deliver emissions reduction projects that make a meaningful difference.

As of 2024, we departed from carbon neutrality, instead taking the opportunity to look within our supply chains and focus on value chain decarbonisation through ‘insetting’ where we can have the most meaningful impact. In this next phase of our decarbonisation journey, it’s all about enhancing the scope, scale and speed of carbon reductions – broadening our decarbonisation strategy to cover scopes 1-3 with a global lens, looking to expedite action across all life cycle stages.

Targets

Back in 2021, we set Science Based Targets, committing to reducing Fever-Tree’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030; and reducing per litre product emissions on an annual basis.

Now our ambition is to define a Fever-Tree Group global decarbonisation strategy and transparent net zero roadmap. Watch this space…

Your Questions Answered

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What does it mean when you say all your mixers sold in the UK are carbon neutral?

It means that all our own and supply chain emissions connected to all our mixers sold in the UK – including ingredient sourcing, production, distribution, sale and even their consumption – have been measured, accounted for and balanced out via high quality, verified carbon credits, resulting in no net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

What does your cradle-to-grave product carbon footprint include?

The scope of this analysis has looked at the emissions arising from mixers sold in the UK, including: Growing and processing of our ingredients; raw materials and production of our packaging; transport of packaging & ingredients to our bottling and canning partners; production of Fever-Tree mixers; transport of our finished mixers to storage facilities; storage at our warehouses; shipping of our product to our retail and on-trade partners; consumption of our mixers by our consumers, including refrigeration and ice; waste & recycling at the end of all our mixers’ life. From this work, we have started to design and implement a programme to reduce our emissions through the supply chain of our products. The Carbon Trust calculated Fever-Tree’s 2020 UK product carbon footprints in line with the GHG Protocol Product Standard and PAS 2050. These standards outline the approach taken to calculate greenhouse gas emissions for products, reported in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent gases (tCO2e). The Carbon Trust primarily used carbon conversion factors from the Carbon Trust’s own database, the UK Government (BEIS 2020) and other international governments to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of Fever-Tree’s products in 2020. Industry or supplier-specific carbon conversion factors were used instead of industry averages where appropriate and available.

How does offsetting work?

While we are committed to reducing our carbon emissions, we also recognise there are certain emissions that will take longer to reduce than others. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take action now and that is where carbon offsetting and credits play a role. Carbon credits are measurable, verifiable emission reductions from certified climate action projects. These projects reduce, remove or avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as bringing other positive benefits for local communities. By investing in these projects via the purchase of carbon credits we are compensating for our emissions. Every carbon credit we purchase is then permanently retired so it can't be reused.

Are you offsetting all your emissions?

As part of our strategy to reduce the carbon impact of our products, we plan to offset all our emissions associated with products sold in the UK. While our outsourced business model means our own emissions are relatively small, we recognise the importance of taking ownership of emissions related to our mixers throughout the life cycle of our products. We have calculated the emissions of every Fever-Tree mixer, using the per litre carbon emissions, multiplied by our 2021 sales data to date, combined with the forecast for the rest of the year. Then, we are compensating for our emissions through our investment in nature-based projects in countries where we source our ingredients. We will recalibrate at the end of the year using actual sales data and purchase any additional offsets required. Our carbon emissions data will continue to be calculated annually by experts to help us understand the carbon credits required to offset our emissions, in line with our commitment to become carbon neutral globally by 2025. We are also working towards independent certification of our carbon neutral claim in early 2022.

How much will you be spending on offsets?

Whilst we are not disclosing specific figures, this is a significant investment as we are offsetting our carbon footprint across all three scopes in line with our timeline to become carbon neutral globally by 2025. By taking this step, we are putting a price on our carbon emissions now, rather than waiting 5 or 10 years.

What offsets have you purchased?

Our strategy is to invest in high-quality, independently verified, nature-based projects in regions where we source our key ingredients with our first investment being in the Isangi REDD+ Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As carbon sinks, forests play an important role in climate change mitigation. However, when forests are cut down the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere and the ecosystem biodiversity is lost or damaged. Projects such as Isangi will not only help to protect these forests but promote sustainable economic opportunities and developing initiatives to bring a brighter future to remote communities.

How much do your scope 3 emissions account for in your overall emissions?

Like most businesses with an outsourced model, scope 3 emissions form the majority of our emissions but it also means they offer the greatest opportunity to make a real difference in terms of reducing our footprint. We have spent a lot of time working with specialists to gain an in-depth understanding of emissions related to every stage of the life cycle of our mixers and we are now working with our suppliers to create a clear roadmap to reduce those emissions.

What are your emissions reduction targets?

For our supply chain emissions (scope 3), we are committed to delivering a reduction in the carbon intensity per litre on an annual basis from 2021 onwards while totally eradicating our own scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030 in line with science-based targets.

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