In partnership with Laboratoire Cooper, supplier to all pharmacies in France, the company Ricard SAS is donating pure alcohol for the production of hand sanitizer

In partnership with Laboratoire Cooper, supplier to all pharmacies in France, the company Ricard SAS is donating pure alcohol for the production of hand sanitizer 

True to its sense of community, Pernod Ricard is mobilizing affiliates globally to deal with the shortage of hand sanitizer 

While the French government has strengthened measures to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, health authorities have expressed concerns regarding a potential shortage of basic resources, including hand sanitizer. In this context, the company Ricard SAS is donating 70,000 litres of pure alcohol to Laboratoire Cooper, one of France's leaders in everyday health products, and the leading supplier of hydroalcoholic gels to pharmacies. This will allow Cooper to increase alcohol deliveries to pharmacies to produce hydroalcoholic gel, the equivalent of approximately 1.8 million individual 50 ml vials. Laboratoire Cooper is committed to donating the equivalent of the donation to various health care associations.

Other Pernod Ricard subsidiaries around the world are also contributing to local efforts to fight the pandemic and help their communities. This is particularly the case in Sweden, Ireland, Spain and the United States, where initiatives are being rolled out to directly produce hand sanitizer within the Group's plants or to supply stocks of pure alcohol. 

• In Sweden, the distillery of Absolut Vodka is offering spirits at large scale to produce hand sanitizer for public health care
• In the United States, responding to the U.S. Administration's call to action, Pernod Ricard's Ft. Smith, Arkansas manufacturing plant and distilleries for Rabbit Hole (Kentucky), Smooth Ambler (West Virginia) and TX Whiskey (Texas) are producing hand sanitizer
• In Spain and Ireland, Pernod Ricard Spain and Irish Distillers have announced they will put their technical, human and production facilities at the service of the authorities to produce hand sanitizer
• Other initiatives are being rolled out in other affiliates, including in the United Kingdom, and will be announced shortly.

Alexandre Ricard, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard, said, 'As the world is facing a major pandemic, companies must mobilise, not only to ensure the safety of their employees, but also to contribute to collective efforts in accordance with their capabilities. By sharing our resources and making our production facilities available wherever they are needed, we are supporting our fellow citizens and local authorities. I would like to thank our employees who have worked hard to make everything possible in record time, all over the world.'

Sébastien Lucot, Managing Director of Laboratoire Cooper, added: "We are very pleased with this partnership with Ricard SAS. Since January we have been steadily increasing our production capacity. It has already increased five-fold in one month, with the demand of pharmacists and consumers being a top priority for us."