Ron Barceló has been named as the first rum brand in the world to be awarded carbon neutral certification.
This certification means the Ron Barceló products will all be permitted to carry the “Carbon Neutral- ISO14067 Product” and “Certified By SGS & ‘Bilan Carbone® License’ labels.
Ron Barceló is the Dominican Republic’s leading rum and is exported to more than 50 countries worldwide. The distiller signed an exclusive Australian distribution deal with Kollaras & Co in October last year.
The initiative to gain carbon free certification began in 2016 as a response to the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and a commitment by the Barceló company to fight against climate change and reinforce sustainable development measures.
The project involved a voluntary carbon neutral initiative based on quantifying, reducing and offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from the production and activity of Ron Barceló products. The entire product life cycle had to be considered, including the manufacture and transport of raw materials, the processing, use, distribution as well as the final disposal of the product.
A significant investment in infrastructure was made to achieve eco-friendly production techniques, including the generation of steam and electricity from a cogeneration plant made from sugar cane bagasses (pulp residue), photovoltaic solar panels, the fertigation of cane fields with organic waste as well as recycling and energy recovery.
In 2019, the emissions offset was achieved through a wind generation plant in Mauritania, Northwest Africa – the first wind power plant in the country, which provided clean electricity to 140,000 people. Offset projects from previous years have included the preservation of rainforest in the Amazon, the treatment of municipal solid wastes in Mexico, wind power generation in Honduras and the shift to efficient stoves in rural communities in Ghana.
Kollaras Marketing Manager, Georgia Kollaras, said the certification was “international recognition of sustainable use of resources, that so far, has Barceló leading the industry. They are indeed pioneers and as brand partners with Barcelo we are very proud of this exciting achievement.”
