The International Breweries Plc (IBPLC), recently marked the 2025 World Environment Day, with the plastic cleanup drive initiative carried out across the country to enhance environmental sustainability.
The company said the efforts were aimed at reducing plastic pollution in urban and semi-urban environments, while also fostering environmental responsibility among residents.
The activities were conducted under the framework of Africa Sustainability Week, a regional initiative designed to drive awareness and coordinated sustainability efforts across the company’s key markets in the continent.
Across all five locations, including Abuja, International Breweries employees, local partners and community volunteers participated in riverbank cleanups and community education targeting rivers and public spaces.
According to the Managing Director, IBPLC, Carlos Coutino, sustainability is not just a corporate goal, it is a way of life for the company. “We are proud to join the world in celebrating this important day by taking real action from restoring land and cleaning our rivers to promoting circularity in packaging. We believe in leaving the environment better than we met it, and that requires commitment, collaboration and consistency.
“We had made circular packaging a key focus of our sustainability strategy. Over 95 percent of our product portfolio is packaged in returnable glass bottles, a measure aimed at reducing waste and supporting reuse models in line with our circular economy sustainability pillar.”
In addition, International Breweries recovered over 200,000 kilograms of post-consumer PET and flexible plastic from the environment in 2024 through its partnership with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA). The effort is part of its compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and broader environmental stewardship goals.
“We recognise that our responsibility to the environment extends beyond compliance, it’s about leadership and long-term impact,” said Temitope Oguntokun, Corporate Affairs & Regulatory Director at International Breweries. “That’s why we’ve set bold 2025 goals to ensure 100 percent of our product packaging is either returnable or made from predominantly recycled materials.
These aren’t just targets, they’re part of our core purpose to create a future with more cheers for people and the planet.”
At each brewery location, the company also engaged with residents and local authorities through sensitisation campaigns. In Lagos, waste sorting demonstrations and plastic recycling talks were held to improve public awareness on how individual behaviours impact the environment.
“Our collaboration with manufacturers like International Breweries is a demonstration of our collective commitment to beat plastic pollution,” said Agharese Onaghise, Executive Director of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance. “By supporting community-based recovery and launching collection hubs in places like Osogbo, Mararaba and Nasarawa, we are helping ensure post-consumer packaging is diverted from waterways and landfills into recycling value chains.”
Government representatives present at some of the activities also acknowledged the impact of the clean-up initiatives. In Rivers State, Sir Alwell Chinedum Okereuku JP, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, commended the efforts of International Breweries and other partners.
“International Breweries’s consistent efforts to tackle plastic pollution have not gone unnoticed,” he said. “We are proud of this collaboration and will continue to partner to protect our environment. This is not just about stakeholders, it’s about shared ownership of our future.”