This article first appeared in Convenience & Impulse Retailing, authored by Thomas Oakley-Newell

Frucor Suntory’s first Australian manufacturing facility is set to be powered by 11GWh of publicly owned renewable energy.

The beverage manufacturer signed an agreement with publicly owned CleanCo to supply electricity and large-scale generation certificates (LGCs), covering 100 per cent of Frucor’s electricity requirements at its new $400 million facility at Swanbank, Queensland.

Lance McCallum, Member for Bundamba and Assistant Minister for Energy, said this deal means more local jobs through clean energy as one of the world’s biggest companies delivers on its ambition for its new facility to be a net zero operation.

“Frucor Suntory’s new factory at Swanbank will include beverage processing, packaging, warehousing, and distribution, and is expected to deliver around 450 construction and installation jobs while also creating 160 long-term roles when it starts operating in mid-2024,” he said.

The Palaszczuk Government has invested half a billion dollars to propel the development of up to 2.3GW of large-scale solar and wind projects in regional Queensland, which means more companies will be able to procure more clean energy.

Frucor Suntory CEO Darren Fullerton said working with partners like CleanCo is essential to helping it achieve its vision of operating with 100 per cent Green Energy when the site goes live in mid-2024.

“For over 120-years, Suntory has focused on Growing for Good, and we want our new +$400 million Swanbank facility to set a benchmark for sustainable investment for our global business and the FMCG sector,” he added.