British soft drink firm facing demands to stop using supplier fuelling Putin's war economy
A British soft drinks producer is facing demands to stop using glass for its bottles which could be supporting Russia's war economy.
A British soft drinks producer is facing demands to stop using glass for its bottles from a company that uses Russian gas.
The Carlsberg Group, which owns UK-based Carlsberg Britvic, has admitted to using a Turkish firm described by Ukraine as being an “international sponsor of war”.
It is understood that bottles for the fruit juice J20 could be among those being produced using Russian gas by company Şişecam for the Carlsberg Group. This was put to Carlsberg who did not deny the allegation.
Speaking to the Express, Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin said: “I think when Carlsberg used to say they were probably the best beer in the world, they didn’t mean dealing with sanctioned Russian gas.
“This is a disgrace which should stop immediately.”
Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention added Şişecam to its “international sponsors of war” list in 2023. This list is no longer available to the public.
By December 2023, the list included 46 companies from 17 countries, and 261 individuals, who Ukraine contended were, by doing business with Russia and contributing to the revenues of Russian businesses, supplementing the Russian military budget in the ongoing war.
A food and drinks industry source said: "It feels so wrong to be importing products from companies with links to Russia whilst the war rages on.
"These items are probably sitting on the shelves of supermarkets and pubs as we speak."
Şişecam confirmed to the Express that natural gas used in Turkey-based production of glass and chemicals is mainly sourced from their state-owned natural gas distributor BOTAS.
An email to this paper said: “BOTAS has different sources for natural gas procurement including but not limited to Russia.”
In December, Turkey extended its expiring Russian gas import contracts by a year.
Turkey is Russia's last major natural gas market in Europe after years of war-related Western sanctions on Moscow.
A Carlsberg Group spokesman said: "We can confirm that Sisecam is one of multiple glass suppliers to Carlsberg Group.
“We operate with a responsible sourcing programme and regularly vet our suppliers to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions and other requirements as outlined in our supplier code of conduct.”
