Encirc Beverages pedals more than bulk wine

Glass maker and filler Encirc Beverages has become a key spoke in the wheel of both the bulk wine sector and its local communities.

IT’S NOT just wine customers and retailers that rave about the work Encirc Beverages is doing. The drinks giant is also becoming a force for good within communities close to its UK sites, and is helping to drive change in underfunded neighbourhoods.

One such project is an exciting hook-up with the charity Access Sport, which saw Encirc Beverages donate £25,000 last year towards refurbishing a BMX track located a mile away from its Bristol site. Access Sport works to ensure that no-one is excluded from the benefits of community sport, with the non-profit organisation training, equipping and supporting community sports clubs and volunteers across the UK to help transform the lives of young people.

“It’s fair to say that the BMX track just down the road from The Park in Lawrence Weston, Bristol, was in need of some investment, love and attention,” says Richard Lloyd, managing director, Encirc Beverages. “So we were keen to kick off our first community support endeavour with this local project.”

The team at Encirc Beverages admired the vision held by Access Sport for every child to have access to a bike, along with the skills and confidence to ride one, and felt that local kids of all backgrounds and abilities should have somewhere exciting and safe to ride with other young people.

“We were able to pay for the track to be refurbished,” says Lloyd. “And we have also funded the purchase of 20 new fullface helmets, five new BMX bikes and one accessible bike.”

The accessible bike, says Lloyd, is an important step on the path to making cycling accessible for all children, whether able-bodied or with mobility challenges.

“We were also thrilled to support the BMX project with more than 200 volunteer hours across two days [4-5 March 2024], with 22 of our colleagues taking part in the refurbishment,” he says. “We had some great feedback from our volunteers, who found it hugely rewarding to be able to give back to the community whilst representing Encirc in the process,”adds Paul Sime, community committee chair for Encirc Beverages. “

The transformation at the track over the two days was absolutely amazing. I hope the look and feel of the track will now encourage more local families to use the facility.”

Calling the project “fantastic to support and get involved with”, Lloyd added: “I hope the track will bring happiness and hours of fun for the whole community and be something everyone can be proud of.”

Encirc Beverages intends to continue its support of the BMX track with further volunteering opportunities, and is in the early stages of organising an open day event for employees of the drinks company and their children to use the revamped facilities.

Away from the BMX track, Encirc Beverages is also making leaps in supporting education. During the month of February, the company hosted 51 pupils who were studying for their Science Technology T-levels with the City of Bristol College.

T-Levels are relatively new, two-year courses taken after GCSEs, and are designed to prepare students for entering skilled employment, an apprenticeship or related technical study. The site tour focused on Encirc Beverages’ lab, where the students were given demonstrations of microbiological testing alongside various different techniques, including wet chemistry distillation and infrared measurement – all processes used in filling and bottling drinks.

“The feedback from the college has been very positive and we are hoping to confirm the visits as routine in the annual curriculum for this course, with the potential to also carry out demonstrations at the college itself,” says Lloyd.

Educational support is also extended to MW students, who are invited to visit Encirc Beverages’ facilities to learn about the latest advancements in bulk wine and the different packaging formats available. By keeping the next wave of MWs informed, it is hoped that some of the stereotypes surrounding wine bottled in market can finally be debunked.

NET ZERO MISSION

Furthermore, Encirc Beverages is on a mission to achieve a net zero-carbon footprint in its glass production, part of the company’s wider goals to safeguard the planet for future generations.

“Glass has to evolve from a weight, colour and design perspective, coupled with furnace technology advancements,” says Lloyd. “The work that’s happening now in glass production will have big benefits in the long term, and Encirc Beverages is working towards achieving zero-carbon glass from 2030.”

Thinking even further into the future, the Science-Based Targets initiative has already approved the commitment of Vidrala (Encirc Beverage’s parent company) to reach a transformational net-zero greenhouse gas emissions level across the value chain by 2045.