THE Herefordshire drinks company co-owned by county singer Ellie Goulding says it's becoming even more eco-friendly with its new labelling.

Goulding, who was born in Hereford and grew up in Lyonshall, near Kington, the former Lady Hawkins School pupil began her rise to fame when she signed her first record deal in 2009.

And now the Starry Eyed singer owns a big stake in hard seltzer brand SERVED.

The company, based in Herefordshire, is rolling out the new labelling next month.

It said that currently, food production contributes to 26 per cent of global carbon emissions, and it had partnered with CarbonCloud to analyse the climate footprints at all stages from ‘grower to grocer".

SERVED’s co-founder Dean Ginsberg said: “Independently certified carbon labelling provides much needed environmental transparency – it allows consumers, who are increasingly looking for more sustainable choices, to make informed decisions on the products they consume.

"We hope this will help drive improvement across the food industry and encourage healthy competition to ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of emissions.”

The new labels will display the carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), a value which converts the varying effects of different gasses into the equivalent amount of CO2 it would take to create the same greenhouse effect.

A universal CO2e measurement allows different products and activities to be compared to each other on a level playing field – whether that be a piece of clothing, a food product or even a car journey.

SERVED’s lime and raspberry hard seltzers have a footprint of 0.41kg and 0.42kg CO2e per kg of product respectively.

Mr Ginsberg added: "The real power in calculating and understanding your climate footprint at every stage of your production process is that it allows you to find hotspots, build future scenarios and focus on making incremental improvements over time.”

The element with the most significant climate impact of SERVED’s production process is its packaging.

“Sourcing the right packaging materials has therefore been an absolute priority," he said.

"We assess both the carbon footprint of packaging materials and their level of recyclability.

"We use aluminium cans that are manufactured in the UK, because they are produced using high levels of recycled aluminium and are infinitely recyclable themselves, which is vital to create a circular economy.

"Aluminium recycling is rapidly improving in the UK, with a record 82 per cent of all aluminium beverage cans recycled in 2020, its highest ever rate.”

The brand also uses wonky fruit, which could have otherwise gone to waste, and it also tries to offset its carbon by planting trees.

SERVED is crafted in Herefordshire, where Goulding grew up, by infusing sparkling spring water with wonky fruit and pairing this with their own ServedPureTM spirit.

The result is a refreshing four per cent ABV plant-based, gluten-free hard seltzer with a crisp, fresh flavour, and a touch of natural sweetness. Designed for the modern health-conscious consumer, SERVED only contains 57 calories and zero sugar.