Staff at drinks firm Bacardi have got on their bikes as part of the company’s drive to be greener.

Now Bacardi has been honoured with an award from the Bermuda National Trust, which will be presented tomorrow.

Clara Fay, director of corporate affairs at Bacardi, said: “The use of bicycles as a mode of transportation to and from Hamilton is important for us because pollution and the use of fuel is reduced and the noise level is low.

“It saves time parking and we can get out exercise at the same time. This is just one of the many ways we can help to build a more sustainable future.”

The company has five traditional French-style bikes, complete with wicker baskets, for use around Hamilton, all marked with the company’s St Germain elderflower liqueur logo, with a further six on order.

Ms Fay said the bikes are similar to ones used by elderflower harvesters, who use cycles to get into the French Alps to collect the flowers.

Lawrence Doughty, conservation officer at the Bermuda National Trust, said: “The Bermuda National Trust is very pleased to recognise Bacardi International for the sustainable initiative that provides employees bicycles to travel around Hamilton.”

Ms Fay added that the bikes were popular with staff, who use them on company business in the city and for running errands where they would normally use a car or scooter.

She said: “They are getting well used. People remark on them and when they see them, they wave.”

She added that the move was part of Bacardi’s Good Spirited campaign to help build a sustainable business model.

The company has improved its water use efficiency by 46 per cent and reduced its greenhouse gas intensity by nearly 45 per cent since it began tracking its environmental impact in 2006.

The Good Spirited scheme includes a commitment to source 40 per cent of its sugar cane-derived products used in rum-making from sustainable sources by next year, with a target of 100 per cent by 2022.

The company also tries to obtain its raw materials and packaging from sustainably-sourced, renewable or recycled materials.

In addition, Bacardi aims to reduce the weight of packaging by 10 per cent in the near future and by 15 per cent by 2022, cut water use and greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2017 and end the use of landfill sites at its production sites by 2022.