Show Notes
It’s no secret that packaging makes up a significant proportion of wine’s carbon footprint. SWR’s research indicates that roughly half of the carbon impact of wine can be attributed to the glass bottle. Whilst many producers are working on light-weighting bottles (see the SWR Bottle Weight Accord), some are also exploring alternative packaging formats. In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Member Interview podcast, I speak with Kelsey Kolbo, business development manager - wine & liquor at Petainer, about the opportunities presented by PET packaging. Kelsey shares insights into the environmental and economic benefits of PET wine bottles, from lower carbon emissions to reduced risk of breakage. We discuss the drivers behind the shift to alternative formats, common misconceptions about PET, and more. SWR is developing a Packaging Choice Framework, offering evidence-based insights into the merits and challenges of different packaging formats. If you're interested in learning more or supporting this work, please do get in touch!
More from Sustainable Wine
The Bottle Weight Accord (BWA) launched in late 2023, with signatories committing to reduce the average weight of wine bottles sold to below 420g by the end of 2026. Three years on, as we near the end of our target year, we have over 20 companies involved from across the wine value chain. Collectively, our signatories make and sell around 3 billion bottles, accounting for roughly 11% of wine sold globally. In this From the Roundtable episode I’m joined by SWR’s Dr Peter Stanbury. From cost to carbon to collaboration, we discuss the learnings from the BWA, impact to date and what's next for the accord. We've also recently launched a Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord, see more details here.
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Regulation, sustainability, consumer preferences, availability, cost…wine companies face a growing number of considerations when it comes to packaging decisions. How can companies navigate the varying trade-offs and identify the most optimal form of packaging for their products and target markets? This is exactly what SWR’s Packaging Choice Tool is designed to help companies do. In this From the Roundtable episode I’m joined by SWR’s Dr Peter Stanbury, who shares the latest updates on the tool we’re currently developing in partnership with Wine Australia. We also briefly discuss the responses we’ve received to date from the Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey that we launched earlier this year. We want to understand what sustainable viticulture and labour actually look like on the ground around the world, and encourage growers to complete the survey. It’s completely anonymous, open to all participants, and takes about 15 minutes to complete. You can find the survey here.
In this SWR Member Interview Podcast, I’m joined by David Bryngelsson, CEO and founder of CarbonCloud, a platform that helps food and beverage companies map, measure and reduce value chain emissions. Amid mounting compliance requirements and reporting burdens, David highlights the opportunities that come from taking action on Scope 3 emissions. Companies that engage in decarbonisation and value chain collaboration can build resilience while strengthening their position as preferred suppliers. We discuss the biggest challenges in carbon measurement in the wine industry, what makes a carbon footprint credible, and best practice for supplier engagement. We also explore the importance of Product Carbon Footprinting (PCF), and David shares insights from CarbonCloud’s PCF partnership with Systembolaget.
There are more than 40 sustainability standards in the wine industry. So how do you know what a certification actually means? Through SWR's Standards Benchmarking work, we're conducting an annual global review of these schemes. In this From the Roundtable episode I'm joined by SWR's Dr Peter Stanbury to discuss our progress to date on benchmarking and how we're turning it into a practical tool for members.