Mizuiku was launched by Suntory Holdings in 2004 so that younger generations would have the opportunity to learn where their water comes from and understand the significance of the forests that nurture this natural resource. Started in Japan, the programme has expanded to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, France, China, Spain and now the UK, with tailored initiatives for each country. To date, 458,700 people across the world have taken part.
Now in its second year, we hope the Mizuiku programme will help pave the way for future projects that educate even more people on the importance of water in years to come.
To fulfil our promise to manage natural resources sustainably, we are constantly innovating to minimise our environmental impact through the whole product lifecycle, including sustainable water management practices.
In 2020, we installed a £13 million high-speed filling line at our factory in Gloucestershire, which requires up to 40% less water to bottle each one of our drinks. In addition, 60 per cent of all water is sourced from on-site boreholes and a new water recovery unit has been installed that stops wastage by recovering, treating and reusing any excess water. Reducing not only water usage, but also sewerage, is critical to protecting the health of local water courses, many of which have been damaged in recent months by floods and sewage discharges.