Wine industry urged to cut emissions by ditching heavy glass bottles

DPA
·1 min read
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Glass bottles, elegant and diverse as they may be, are an inefficient way of packaging wine, say analysts who argue in the era of climate change, producers have no excuse - financial or ecological - to stick with the old bottling approach. Daniel Reinhardt/dpa
Glass bottles, elegant and diverse as they may be, are an inefficient way of packaging wine, say analysts who argue in the era of climate change, producers have no excuse - financial or ecological - to stick with the old bottling approach. Daniel Reinhardt/dpa

Agricultural businesses are among those facing pressure to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, but for one such industry, there is an off-the-shelf measure that would not only help it comply, but also save it a lot of money.

Lighter bottles - or "lightweighting," as it is called - is "the most effective, least disruptive way for the wine industry to address its largest source of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions," according to Rabobank, which offers financial advice in the agricultural industry.

Packaging accounts for around a fifth of wine’s so-called carbon footprint, according to the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), though some estimates put the weight of packaging to be higher.

"If the wine industry wants to reduce the GHG emissions associated with their packaging, they will have to focus on reducing the weight of their glass bottles," the bank’s RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness said.

"By switching to a 15oz/420g bottle, a one million case winery with an average bottle weight of 23oz/650g could save nearly $3 million in annual packaging costs and reduce their GHG emissions by 10%," said Rabobank analyst Bourcard Nesin.

The International Organisation of Wine and Vine (OIV) warned in November that world wine output for 2023 could be the lowest since 1961. Industry insiders had earlier pointed to factors such as drought and high costs for inputs such as fertiliser - and packaging - for falling overall production.