Contributing to a more circular economy
We want to help build a more circular economy for Wales and the rest of the UK. This is why we never use bottles made from less than 50% recycled plastic across our entire range, for the moment this excludes cap and label, but we want to work on that.
Our Plastic
isn’t Rubbish
Everything about the Princes Gate bottles are recyclable, including the label and cap. So together we can help give our bottles many more lives and cut waste.
We’re all about
Zero waste to Landfill
Rest assured that everything that can be recycled at our bottling site is recycled. We’ve been a Zero Waste Landfill site for over 10 years now and its something the whole team takes great pride in and responsibility for.
OUR COMMITMENT
Here at Princes Gate, we care about where we live, about our wider environmental impact and the quality of our water. We’re an imaginative lot and if there’s something that we can do to lessen our impact, we’ll give it a go! Whether that’s creating a carpark out of recycled plastic bottles or rewilding the land around our factory, we’re committed to making the changes we can, big or small, to lessen out impact and protect the environment.
We are all facing many challenges right now, but climate change is the biggest of them all. As a result, and rightly so, we are all demanding more from the companies we buy from and we realise businesses like ours have a responsibility to do the right thing. We are known for our no nonsense, open approach and certainly don’t claim to be perfect here at Princes Gate.
Things you can do too
We have great ambitions to do all we can to be as green as the space we occupy, but if we’re to really tackle climate change then we need to do this together. Here’s a little handy guide on how you can help…
Use less water
Take shorter showers, capture rainwater and install water saving devices.
Reuse & Repair
Turn those empty jars into drinking glasses and bottles into vases..
Recycle
A little more recycling and a little less rubbish.
Use less energy
Unplug devices when not in use, switch to an energy provider that uses renewable energy and replace light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs.
Net Zero by 2050
We’ve long been on a mission to minimise our carbon footprint, reducing our bottle weights and introducing rPET, but now we have our sights set on nothing less but Net Zero. Or more specifically, a 20% reduction of our carbon footprint by 2025, 50% by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050 in line with the rest of the Nestlé group. We will be sharing our plans as we go over on our blog.
Powered by nature
We have renewable electricity to thank for running our factory. With our very own wind turbine, we’re pretty self sufficient and any top ups always come from a renewable energy provider.
Committed to working with you
We will always listen closely to our customers and embrace chances to improve our service and our environmental impact. So, if you feel you have an idea that we maybe haven’t thought of, then we’d love to hear from you!
Practicing what we preach
Currently our bottles are made from 51% recycled plastic, excluding the cap and label. They are also recyclable, this means that, if we work closely with our customers we can help to create a closed loop in terms of recycling. Every decision we’ve made about our packaging has been closely considered. Each bottle is carefully designed to use as little plastic as possible and is transported to the factory as a tiny preform and blown on-site. rPET plastic is completely recyclable which means that if it is recycled properly then the material from our bottles never has to be wasted or found in landfill. One of the reasons why we use rPET (recycled plastic) above Tetra or aluminium cans to package our water is because these have a much higher carbon footprint than rPET.
Helping to close the loop
We believe that we need a more circular economy, and that is why we fully support the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). But what does this mean exactly? A DRS will charge anyone buying a drink in a bottle or can a small deposit, which will then be returned to them when they return their empty container to be recycled. The main benefits of a DRS include reducing litter, increasing recycling rates, and enhancing the quality of recycled content that can then be used to make new bottles and cans.
Alliance for Water Stewardship in 2025
Pembrokeshire’s tasty, refreshing water is everything to us, so of course we want to actively protect our local sources. Collaborating with others to protect and encourage good practice and sustainable water use is very important to us. That’s why we have been recognised for our dedication to responsible water management and collaboration, as well as strong engagement with the local community.
Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) is a global membership collaboration of businesses, NGOs and the public sector. It focusses on contributing to the sustainability of local water resources by promoting its framework.
The Alliance of Water Stewardship Standard is an international accredited standard for measuring responsible water stewardship across social, cultural, environmental, and economic criteria. Follow the links below for more information about Princes Gate's commitment to AWS:
• Princes Gate's Water Commitment
• Princes Gate's AWS Announcement
• Princes Gate's Water Governance
Rewilding OUR Princes Gate HQ
Now, we’re not claiming to be experts on rewilding, but that hasn’t stopped us transforming 5 hectares of fields around the Princes Gate factory into a thriving, natural landscape full of wildlife, including ducks and bees. Pete has worked with us for a long time and saw the potential in the land around us. He got some advice from the specialists, including The Royal Botanical Gardens in Carmarthen and set about creating fields of wild flowers and vegetation, a pond with a duck house, bee hives and log mounds to provide many safe havens for the local wildlife, and for the team when they want to take some time out with a coffee (ahem… or a water!).
Key dates
2013
EEF Future Manufacturing Award
2013
Carbon Trust ‘Best Practice’ Award
2014
Wind turbine installed
2017
25% rPET in our bottles (excluding cap and label)
2018
51% rPET in our bottles (excluding cap and label)
2019
Rewilding of source land
2025
Alliance for water Stewardship