Our Community: Earth Day With ecoSPIRITS

ecoSPIRITS’ mission is to become a leader in the circular economy. As part of this mission, the company has launched the world’s first closed-loop distribution technology for premium spirits as a way to make spirits consumption more sustainable.

Accela Group has been lucky enough to work with ecoSPIRITS across all of our verticals; Finance & Corporate Secretary, Talent and Communications. For this special Earth Day “Our Community” feature, we’re chatting with CEO Paul Gabie about what ecoSPIRITS has been up to and what’s coming up for the company in 2021.

First, a little background. Did you know how much of an impact single-use glass bottles have on the environment? 
The production of single-use glass spirit bottles generates 22 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year. In 2020 alone, people around the world consumed 40 billion bottles of spirits - and that’s with so many bars, restaurants and hotels being closed for a good chunk of the year!

Producing glass packaging is energy-intensive, and that is before you get to the carbon footprint of transporting spirits around the world from the place of origin to your local bar. On top of this, most glass is not properly recycled, so it goes to landfill. Here in Singapore, only 14% of glass waste is recycled.

Above: the ecoTOTE

What is the solution?
ecoSPIRITS has created a group of technologies that make closed-loop spirits possible. At the core is the ecoTOTE, which is a patent-pending closed-loop glass vessel that is entirely reusable and holds 4.5 litres of spirits. Partner bars, restaurants and hotels are equipped to sustainably refill branded spirits bottles from the ecoTOTE, and when it’s empty, send it to be cleaned and refilled. The ecoTOTES are easily stackable, meaning they take up less space in venues, warehouses and on trucks, and they aren’t easily breakable like glass bottles.

Single-use packaging for spirits comes at a huge cost to the planet, as well as distributors and customers. ecoSPIRITS offers a truly sustainable, cost-effective, closed-loop system for transporting, distributing and pouring spirits, and an option for consumers to make choices that make an impact.

Above: Paul Gabie, CEO of ecoSPIRITS with the ecoTOTE 3.0.

Last year ecoSPIRITS had some big announcements – the VC Wavemaker Partners came on board to support its global expansion, they announced some exciting partnerships with spirits producers and hospitality groups, and embarked journey to achieve B Corp status. Looking ahead, what can we expect from ecoSPIRITS in 2021?

Well, we’re excited to be on the cusp of launching closed-loop service in the United Kingdom, gearing up to be part of what is hopefully a positive, post-vaccine re-opening of hospitality in London this summer. We also expect to announce additional European markets in the months ahead.

People are also talking about the concept of a ‘Green Reset’ – where cities and businesses are looking to come back from COVID-19 with a focus on sustainability. Hospitality, which has been so tremendously impacted by the pandemic, is looking to come back with practices that reduce and offset their emissions. And as we were seeing before the pandemic, customers will vote for the environment with their wallets.

ecoSPIRITS will also continue to improve and upgrade our closed-loop technology and will be releasing new features and upgrades over the course of the year. We continue to focus on deepening our own sustainability credentials. This includes working towards formal B Corp certification later this year and working with Deloitte on a major carbon study of our technology.

Finally, we continue to expand the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program, which we launched in partnership with C02 mitigation specialists Green Steps Group last year. The forest program plants native trees in the endangered Kalimantan rainforest in Borneo, Indonesia on behalf of ecoSPIRITS partner venues. The reforestation not only removes C02 from the atmosphere, but it also creates employment in low-income communities.

That’s awesome! And how can a customer buying a drink in a restaurant that serves ecoSPIRITS find out what they are supporting?

Each ecoSPIRITS partner venue receives its own private digital forest interface, so they can track and share their trees and C02 impact. A great example is Loco Group here in Singapore, a leading ecoSPIRITS venue partner.

If, for example, you are at Super Loco in Robertson Quay, and you order a cocktail made with an ecoSPIRITS spirit off the menu, you can scan a QR code to see the forest programs you are supporting, how many trees have been planted to date, and how much carbon that equates to. You can even see who has planted your trees. As a guest, you can see in real-time how the choices you are making are having an impact.

What has basing ecoSPIRITS in Singapore meant in terms of opportunities and challenges?

Singapore is rapidly staking its claim as a hub for green innovation in the Asia-Pacific. The Singapore Government’s Green Plan has strengthened the country's commitment to the UN's Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement, setting ambitious targets to achieve net carbon zero status, and putting plans in place to achieve them. 

The Singapore Government's vision and green leadership, coupled with a favourable investment climate, make the city-state a great place for ecoSPIRITS to be based.

Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs or innovators looking to launch in Singapore in 2021?

Doing business in Singapore has been a wonderful experience. There are strong intellectual property protections and support in place for businesses, and even more so in helping companies to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singapore really deserves its reputation as a regional capital for innovation and entrepreneurship. And to ensure you have a seamless experience setting up and growing here, have the right financial processes, file your taxes correctly, recruit the right people to grow the team and reach the right audiences with your communications and marketing, Accela is a wonderful partner. They have been instrumental in ecoSPIRITS rapid growth over the past few years.