C&C Group plc is a leading drinks manufacturer, marketer and distributor of premium branded cider, beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks across the UK and Ireland. The Group also plays a fundamental role in the infrastructure of the UK and Irish drinks market as a key route-to-market partner for local and international beverage brand owners.
Strategic Report - How we create sustainable value
Our purpose is to deliver joy to customers with remarkable brands and service.
Our vision is to be the first-choice brands led distribution partner for customers in hospitality and retail in the UK and Ireland.
Our values are:
Respect people and the planet
We bring joy to life
Quality is at our core
Manufacture
The Group recognises that sustainability needs to be embraced by partners at every stage of the supply chain to promote the success of its sustainability strategy.
ESG Pillars
Embrace sustainable sourcing
We are committed to sourcing our raw materials from local sustainable sources. All apples crushed at the Clonmel site for the production of Bulmers and Magners cider are sourced from the island of Ireland. As well as having 165 acres of our own orchards in Co. Tipperary, there are over 50 partner growers on the island with whom we work closely.
The Group recognises that sustainability needs to be embraced by partners at every stage of the supply chain to achieve our sustainability objectives. C&C has enhanced its approach to ethical and sustainable procurement. This sets out our policies and objectives in relation to wider social and ethical issues as well as environmental issues including climate change. As part of our sustainable procurement approach, we are working with CDP and the Science Based Targets Initiative to build an understanding of the way our supply chain manages their climate change risks and their overall ethical approach.
Optimising Production and Manufacturing
The Group has employed various practices to conserve the use of energy, reduce carbon emissions, improve waste reduction and recycling and minimise the impact on natural resources. From 1 April 2021, 100% of the electricity across our main sites in the UK and Ireland comes from renewable sources, covering c98% of our electricity use. In February 2022, Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Ireland, visited Clonmel to mark the installation of the largest rooftop solar panel farm in Ireland. This solar panel provides up to 10% of Clonmel’s electricity requirements, while reducing the site’s carbon emissions by 4%, and saving c.290 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
Improve sustainable packaging
During FY2022, the Group met its ambitious commitment to be out of single-use plastics (shrink and hi and mid cone rings) in the packaging of our canned products, reducing the environmental impact and ecological footprint of our products. All of our canned product is now in fully recyclable cardboard, removing more than 200 million plastic rings/per annum from the environment, as part of an overall plastic reduction of several hundred tonnes. We are the only brewer who is a member of the UK Plastics Pact, which has additional targets on plastic packaging, waste and recyclates. Across C&C group, 29% of our own beer and cider is sold in returnable formats (returnable keg and bottle).
Market
ESG Pillars
Data
Our unrivalled scale and reach into the on-trade markets of the UK and Ireland ensures that we have superior access to data and the best insight into macro and regional trends.
Promoting responsible consumption of alcohol
We are committed to the promotion of responsible drinking and moderate consumption of our products, to ensure they are enjoyed safely by drinkers.
Communities
The Group is committed to the communities in which we operate and undertakes a range of initiatives that benefit our local communities, in particular supporting charitable activities.
Stakeholder engagement
We aim to maintain open and positive dialogue with all our stakeholders. Our stakeholders are an important part of our operations and are referenced throughout this report.
Distribution
ESG Pillars
C&C is the UK & Ireland’s largest independent On Trade drinks distributor. Our final mile distribution strength, means we are well placed to serve our On Trade customers, with 29 nationwide depots and our owned fleet delivering in excess of 700,000 orders per year.
One stop shop
With an unrivalled range of beers, ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks, C&C’s distribution platform provides a comprehensive “one stop shop” for licensed premises owners.
Final Mile distribution
In FY2022, we completed the optimisation of the English and Scottish delivery networks. This consolidated volumes from three separate networks into two, bringing all of our final mile English distribution in-house, driving on-going efficiencies, service improvements and in turn enhance future margins.
Piloting Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) are being trialled for deliveries in urban areas. An electric-powered van has been utilised for small-volume deliveries of Five Lamps craft beer in Dublin and a trial of electric vans has taken place at the Matthew Clark Park Royal depot, together with a Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) diesel replacement trial at our Bedford depot. ln Scotland, we are investigating alternative fuel types for vehicles, electric vehicles for Wellpark to Cambuslang trips and hydrogen for longer distance inter depot shunts.
