The path from sustainability to circularity

The beginning

Some of you old hands know our “conference bottle” - every year we give these out to all summit visitors. It is practical, beautiful and ensures that we can completely do without plastic cups.

But there is a catch

They are expensive (cost 3 EUR to produce), the clip closure is not sustainable and we produce more waste. After all, the bottles are produced especially for us. There has to be a better way!

C2C? - So we want to do better.

So we asked the Cradle to Cradle pioneer Prof. Michael Braungart and the C2C association:
Which is the most sustainable bottle on the market?
Clear answer: dopper
It is the only bottle collection in the world to be awarded a cradle-to-cradle gold certificate.

We spoke to the dopper team and are indeed impressed with the product. Unfortunately we can't get a price of EUR 3 per bottle. And we, as a small foundation, always have to keep an eye on our budget.

So back to the start - beer bottles?

We look at the market

Many glass bottles already have a reusable system installed. Beer manufacturers in particular use the swing top bottles with the “pop”

We go to the supermarket.

There the beer bottles (with their contents) cost well under one euro -
Quick thought...how about simply buying 1500 beer bottles and giving them to all summit participants. And then everyone can continue to use the bottle – as a conference bottle, so to speak.
Well – selling beer to Meschen at 9 a.m. on a Saturday might not be the best idea after all.

Friend economics

What was that like? What do we always preach?

Oh yes, right the friend economy. We have friends! So we ask the Quartiermeister.
A half success: They think the idea is cool, but unfortunately they don't have resealable bottles. And the guys give us valuable contact with the brewery in Brandenburg

We are successful – it works

We get industrially cleaned swing-top bottles at a price that is seven times cheaper.
They do have a rubber and clip closure. But circular. After use we can return them.

The wild ride was worth it. We learned a lot. And our Summit guests will have a stylish clear bottle that they can either keep as a souvenir or drop off at the nearest liquor store.