Local rum producer J Wray & Nephew hasn’t always enjoyed a favourable reputation in the public sphere with regard to its environmental practices, but if recent developments are anything to go by, it’s something the company is eager to shake.

Since being acquired by Italian aperitif maker Gruppo Campari in 2012, J Wray has broadened its green footprint by either implementing or expanding on existing initiatives which it says are industry-leading. It recycles its production waste, treats wastewater before expelling it, and employs energy-saving strategies on its properties.

“Eighty per cent of our solid waste is recycled,” Jorge Gonzalez told the Jamaica Observer on a recent walk-through of the facility at 234 Spanish Town Road.

That includes glass bottles, cardboard and plastic packaging, as well as domestic and trade effluent. Even wooden pallettes are repaired and reused. The only exception are bottle caps and labels.

Gonzalez is the production supply chain director, which means he oversees the entire process from procuring the base raw material from the canefield, the manufacturing, through to product delivery. He knows first-hand how much waste is generated in the process.

He said the company processes approximately 30 tons of cardboard, 58 tons of glass, and two tons of plastic wrapping per month.

“This reduces the solid waste we send to landfills and as a bonus we receive a monthly rebate on all recyclable waste,” he said in reference to the cardboard and glass bottle merchants from which J Wray buys.

In a previous interview with the Observer, Gonzalez said green inittiatives at the workplace are good for both the company’s bottomline as well as its brand security.

“It shows that you can be trusted as a corporate citizen if you not only comply with the laws but are, in a way, protecting your brand,” he said then.

“It also fosters pride among employees and pride at the place you work is an important thing for us. Reducing the carbon footprint for us is the right thing to do and also it’s a commercial message so it helps to build the bottomline,” he explained.

The wastewater treatment plant, which was built at a cost of US$7 million, has a designed capacity of 3,000 cubic metres per day and handles effluent generated at the north, south and east complexes on Spanish Town Road.

The south complex at 234 Spanish Town Road has been ISO 14001:2004 since 2012. It is now seeking to upgrade to ISO 14001:2015.