At PERRIER®, we have always been driven by an “extreme thirst for life”, which forms the cornerstone of our communication. Today, that passion is inspiring us to address one of the biggest challenges our societies are currently facing: global warming.

By breathing fresh life into our long-established signature, “de l’eau, de l’air, la vie”, our new campaign also underscores our commitment to build a more sustainable world: pledging to safeguard the quality of our water and air is also a pledge to safeguard life itself.

The world’s water resource is a vital and precious common good and it is in our interests,
as a mineral water producer, to safeguard it.
This can be achieved by sustainably and responsibly managing the resources
and safeguarding the natural sites that surround them.

RESPONSIBLY AND SUSTAINABLY MANAGING OUR WATER RESOURCES

When drawing water from the PERRIER® source, we have always taken care to maintain its natural replenishment with a view to ensuring its continued availability, both today and in the future. This approach is accompanied by ongoing surveys to monitor the water table, whilst taking the effects of global warming into account.

We work hand-in-hand with local NGOs and local authorities to safeguard the quantity and quality of the region’s water. With that in mind, we signed a partnership with the Syndicat des Nappes Vistrenque et Costières in 2019 to help protect the local water table. In 2020, that partnership has been further expanded through the Etablissement Public Territorial de Bassin Vistre Vistrenque: a continuous collaborative process to safeguard the region’s water resources.

We are working to get our Vergèze plant certified Alliance Stewardship in 2025. The AWS Standard is the first, comprehensive global standard for measuring responsible water stewardship across social, cultural, environmental, and economic criteria: a proof of our commitment to protect water ressources.

THE QUALITY OF OUR WATER STARTS WITH THE QUALITY OF THE LIVING SOILS…

Everything in nature is intertwined: if we are to preserve PERRIER® natural mineral water, which is located in the groundwater aquifer, it is vital that we protect the surrounding land that forms the catchment area known as the “impluvium”.

The impluvium for the PERRIER® source primarily consists of vegetation that is typical to the south of France, the “Garrigue” scrubland, surrounded by villages and agricultural land.
Preserving the impluvium’s natural sites has consequently been a fundamental part of our work for many years. By joining forces with well-known organisations that are renowned for their expertise -such as the French forest fire protection association DFCI - Défense des Forêts Contre l’Incendie and Forêt Méditerranéenn - our teams are able to implement sustainable management practices that ensure a protective layer of vegetation is maintained, and continues to protect our water resources.

OVER 300 HECTARES OF LAND NOW CERTIFIED « ORGANIC»

We also actively support a zero-pesticide policy across the farmlands and villages located within the impluvium.
Since 1994, we have been working hand-in-hand with the region’s farmers to help them make the transition to organic farming and adopt sustainable practices. Today, 90 percent of the farmland, over 300 hectares, near the PERRIER® source is certified organic.
Our historical partnership with the “Héraclès” wine-growing cooperative is a prime example of this approach. By sustainably managing their vines and using natural preventive treatments, the cooperative is now able to produce 50,000 hectolitres of organic wine each year, making it France’s largest organic wine producer.

We have also worked closely with the town of Vergèze - PERRIER®’s historic birthplace - and with other local councils on a number of initiatives, such as banning the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. As a result of these efforts, the commune of Vestric-et-Candiac has been awarded “Terre Saine” (Healthy Land) certification, and our teams are currently working to help Vergèze receive the same accolade by 2021.

ON A JOURNEY TO REDUCE OUR CARBON EMISSIONS ACROSS OUR ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN.

At PERRIER®, we have been working for years on the improvement of our carbon footprint. We will continue doing so by acting to further reduce our emissions at every stage of our product's life: management of our sources and local territories, packaging design, recycling, production and transport.

INCREASE THE SHARE OF RECYCLED PLASTIC IN OUR PACKAGING

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic bottles are both lightweight and strong, providing an outstanding protective barrier for the water they contain. Nevertheless, we have decided to make the transition to a circular economy by gradually replacing virgin plastic (PET) with recycled plastic (rPET) in all our bottles.

What is recycled PET?
It boasts exactly the same properties as virgin PET, but has already been used for something else prior to being sorted, collected and then recycled into new reusable plastic.
Our goal is for all of our bottles to be made with 50% recycled PET by 2025.

We’re also taking the same approach for our plastic overwrap, which currently includes 50% recycled materials.

Since April 2019, we have been supporting CARBIOS, an innovative French start-up that is developing enzymatic recycling solutions that would allow plastic to be endlessly recycled.

TOWARDS ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC

Having always campaigned for creativity, we are convinced that change must be driven by innovation. That is why we are also forging partnerships with a number of innovative players who will help us design the packaging of the future.

In January 2020, we announced the launch of our THE NEXT PACKAGING MOVEMENT during the ChangeNow Summit. The aim of this international collaboration programme, which involves start-ups and social entrepreneurs, is to explore innovative and sustainable packaging solutions. Following an international call for projects, we selected 3 winning projects that are currently in the incubation phase and are now able to take advantage of our technical and financial support.

We have also partnered up with Danimer Scientific, an American start-up that develops packaging from biodegradable materials.

OUR TRANSPORTS AND FACTORY: A SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

Since 2018, our bottles have been transported to the French port of Fos-sur-Mer via a daily train that is 80% powered by electricity. Thanks to this initiative, we are now making 27,000 fewer trips by lorry each year, dramatically freeing up the road network.
This innovative project came to fruition by working closely with a number of private and public partners, who all contributed their expertise to create a project of high technological and ecological value.

A key milestone in our roadmap: our electric train is an important step in the move towards sustainable transport, reducing our CO2 emissions by 2,500 tons each year.

We are now aiming to build on that progress by focusing our efforts on introducing hydrogen-powered lorries.

Our factory is also 100% powered by renewably sourced electricity.