Sustainable online grocer Abel & Cole has won the ‘Green Initiative of the Year Award’ at the Retail Week Awards 2025 recently for its Club Zero Milk refillable milk service, an innovation breakthrough part funded by UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK.
The firm launched its Club Zero Refillable Milk offering in October 2023 in a ground-breaking refillable plastic milk bottle. The packaging innovation is estimated to save 450,000 single-use plastic milk bottles (23 tonnes of plastic) and 60 tonnes of carbon each year (compared to the glass bottle equivalent).
Representing a collaborative effort over a several years with partners including Berry Global, Campden BRI and Berkeley Farm Dairy, the 100% polypropylene Club Zero Refillable Milk bottle uses existing packaging resource and technology, safely allows for multiple refills, and is completely recyclable. According to Abel & Cole, it cuts the carbon footprint of the company’s single-use milk bottles in half after just four returns.
“Picking up ‘The Green Initiative Award’ at the Retail Week Awards last night is a huge win for us,” said Ed Ayton, Abel & Cole’s Ethics & Sustainability Advisor. “It’s one of the highest accolades we can earn, it was an exceptional ceremony, and the judges’ praise showed they clearly appreciated what we’re trying to achieve with Club Zero.”
The Retail Week Award judges praised Abel & Cole for its continued efforts to perfect the initiative and for “not giving up”.
One judge said: “They found a solution that was even better, greener and used less water. They believed in it so strongly, and wanted, needed and cared enough to sort it.”
Another judge acknowledged the potential impact of this innovation: “I love the challenge to the big supermarkets because it felt like it’s something that’s achievable and could make a big difference to an industry and the environment.”
