Still water runs deep: How VILSA is bottling a net zero future

A spring of innovation since day one

VILSA-BRUNNEN, based in Bruchhausen-Vilsen, Lower Saxony, forms the core of the VILSA GROUP with more than 500 employees. The company has been filling and marketing natural mineral water and soft drinks for many years. With the VILSA brand, the family-owned company is the market leader among mineral water brands in northern Germany and the largest German provider of organic mineral water.

VILSA understands sustainability as a generational commitment. Under the internal mission #ProtectingTomorrowToday, the company pursues a consistent climate strategy based on science-based reduction targets (SBTs).

The hard part isn't setting goals, it's finding the next lever

For VILSA, the challenge lies in continuously identifying suitable measures for the successive reduction of its own emissions. The prerequisite is a reliable carbon footprint: the calculation should be as automated as possible and cover hard-to-capture categories with appropriate emission factors. Together with ClimatePartner, VILSA was able to identify key reduction levers in production, packaging, and logistics. ClimatePartner's experts supported VILSA with their specific industry know-how and experience in the complex validation process of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Building a decarbonisation roadmap on solid data

Together with ClimatePartner, the VILSA GROUP calculated its carbon footprint for the base year 2022. Building on this, the company developed a decarbonisation strategy aligned with the 1.5°C target, tailored to SBTi requirements for both near-term and long-term goals.

ClimatePartner guided the entire SBTi validation process, from target modelling and evidence preparation to final submission. In parallel, concrete reduction measures across scopes 1 to 3 were identified and prioritised: these include steps to transition the energy supply, optimise packaging, and electrify the truck and forklift fleet.

Germany's first beverage producer with validated net zero targets

In October 2025, the SBTi confirmed the VILSA GROUP's near-term and long-term targets. As the first German beverage producer with validated net-zero targets, the company commits to reducing emissions across the entire value chain to net zero by 2050 at the latest:

• Scopes 1 and 2: 42% reduction by 2030 and 90% reduction by 2050 (vs. base year 2022)
• Scope 2: Switch to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 (2022 baseline: 95.86%)
• Scope 3: 25% reduction in supply chain emissions by 2030 and 90% by 2050 (vs. the same base year)

70% down and accelerating

In recent years, VILSA-BRUNNEN has already achieved significant climate progress: direct production-related emissions at the site were reduced by approximately 70% per filling between 2010 and 2024. Since 2018, the headquarters has sourced 100% renewable electricity, and in 2024 the company's own combined heat and power plant was converted to local biogas. In February 2026, the first three of 17 trucks in the fleet were replaced with battery-electric heavy-duty long-haul trucks, and three company-owned 400kW fast-charging stations were commissioned.

VILSA also leverages a major lever in packaging and the circular economy: over 90% of products are sold in reusable containers, and the bottle bodies of all VILSA single-use bottles for mineral water and soft drinks are made from 100% recycled PET. With its unique NIX-PACK solution for single-use bottles, VILSA has eliminated additional shrink-wrap packaging since 2025, reducing waste. The innovation replaces conventional shrink film on six-pack single-use containers with adhesive dots and a small cardboard handle. Less plastic means less waste and lower emissions.

Staying the course: What comes next

To achieve its ambitious climate targets, VILSA is pursuing further measures. These include increased use of recycled materials, further improvements in energy efficiency, and continued electrification of the fleet with e-trucks, e-forklifts, and the corresponding charging infrastructure.