Tuesday 24th February 2015. A.G.Barr brings an Xtra boost to Clean Up Scotland Campaign. A.G. Barr, Scotland’s leading soft drinks manufacturer, best known for making Scotland’s 'other national drink' IRN-BRU, has pledged its support for the Clean Up Scotland mass-engagement campaign organised by Scotland’s charity for the environment, Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB). The Clean Up Scotland Campaign aims to change long-term behaviour and attitudes in Scotland by making littering unacceptable. It encourages people across the country to sign the pledge and become anti-litter champions in their local communities. Roger White, Chief Executive of A.G.Barr has signed a personal pledge to do his bit to clean up Scotland and is inviting the company’s Scotland based employees to do the same. The company which sells twelve 330ml cans of IRN-BRU every second alongside brands like Strathmore Spring Water, Barr flavours and Rubicon will also organise a local clean up near to their North Lanarkshire base and encourage their Scottish based retail customers and suppliers to sign the pledge and help KSB to build on the work they are already doing to tackle littering in Scotland. This endorsement is a welcome boost to Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Clean Up Scotland campaign which is focussed on making Scotland clean and green, today in for the future. Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “A company such as A.G.Barr demonstrating their support for the Clean Up Scotland Campaign sends a powerful message to businesses and consumers in Scotland. The business community is brilliantly placed to use its networks, resources and activities to improve the environments in which we live and in which they operate. Thanks to its heritage and place in Scottish people’s hearts, A.G. Barr’s endorsement of Clean Up Scotland is a big part of the national coalition we’re 1 building – taking action against the neglect which affects our great country. As the leading soft drinks company in Scotland, AG Barr is in a position of influence over not only those who sell its products, but also those who drink them. Anything that can be done to reduce litter from food and drink packaging is to be encouraged and we welcome their support. “Our challenge as we look to 2015, is to encourage more businesses and members of the community to take the Clean Up Scotland pledge, and help us in our ambition to make Scotland the cleanest country in Europe.” Roger White, Chief Executive of A.G. Barr said: “Scotland is a beautiful country and we all have a responsibility to keep it that way. Litter is a blight on our landscape and as a responsible company we want to play our part in encouraging everyone to do the right thing and dispose of their soft drinks packaging properly. Getting behind the Clean Up Scotland campaign was an obvious step for us given the excellent work that the organisation is doing and builds on the work we are already undertaking on littering and recycling in Scotland. We are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck into a local clean up and would encourage our customers and consumers to do the same in their local area and keep Scotland beautiful today and for future generations.’ Aileen McLeod, Minister for Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform, said: “” ENDS 2 Notes to Editors 1. Keep Scotland Beautiful is the charity that campaigns, acts and educates on a range of local, national and global environmental issues to change behaviour and improve the quality of people’s lives and the places they care for. It is committed to making Scotland clean, green and more sustainable. Further details at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org . 2. Clean Up Scotland is: a mass engagement anti-litter campaign that is working to make Scotland the cleanest country in Europe, led by the independent charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful assembling a national coalition for action to challenge our individual relationships with litter leading community clean-up activities to tackle the carelessness and illegal behaviour of those individuals who damage our quality of life and tarnish the country’s image working to change long-term behaviour by making dropping litter as socially unacceptable tomorrow as drink driving is today asking everyone to take the first step by taking the Clean Up Scotland Pledge at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pledge 3. 'Barr Soft Drinks is the UK's leading independent manufacturer of branded soft drinks with an annual turnover of over £254m. Established by Robert Barr in Falkirk in 1875, the company now produces a large range of soft drinks including IRN-BRU which is seen by many as part of the culture of the Scottish Nation - Barr flavoured carbonates, Rubicon exotic juice drinks, KA, Strathmore Spring Water, Snapple (under a license agreement with Snapple Beverage Corporation) and Rockstar energy drink (under a license agreement with Rockstar Inc USA). A.G.Barr also own Funkin cocktail mixers and employs over 1000 people across 9 sites in the UK. 3 All Barr packaging : cans, PET, glass and cartons are recyclable and the company is a signatory of the 2013 Courtauld Commitment phase 3 which aims to encourage more recycling, reduce the carbon impact of grocery packaging, and reduce waste from household food and drink, packaging and the supply chain. Barr’s are also a funding partner of ‘Every Can Counts’ together with Zero Waste Scotland and Alupro an ‘on the go’ recycling scheme for drinks cans which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling, promote behaviour change, create awareness of the value of cans and provide a method to collect and recycle them. All Barr’s packaging carries the Keep Britain Tidy logo and the OPRL scheme which provide consumers with consistent information about the recyclability of packaging. The company has also removed the equivalent of 26.5 million 500ml plastic bottles from the market over the last 10 years through the company's PET lightweighting programme. Barrs have fully adopted the UK Gov'ts new Front of Pack Labelling scheme and have pledged to reduce calories across their portfolio as part of the Governments Responsibility Deal Calorie Reduction pledge. In the first year of the pledge Barrs have reduced the average calorific content across their portfolio by 3% against their 5% target. 4. Clean Up Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government through its Zero Waste Scotland programme. 5. Media enquiries to Message Matters: Peter Duncan on 07740 469 949 4