Wirra Wirra and Coles Liquor join SWA’s Bottle Weight Accord
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) has named two new signatories to its Bottle Weight Accord, which now covers more than 1.5 billion bottles of still wine worldwide.
Two major names in Australian wine are the latest signatories of the SWR’s Bottle Weight Accord.
Coles Liquor, which has a network of more than 900 Liquorland stores, and Wirra Wirra, one of McLaren Vale’s most iconic wineries, have announced their commitment to lowering the average bottle weight of their wine ranges to 420g per 75cl bottle.
Liquorland, Australia’s leading drinks retailer, ranges many exclusive wine brands, including James Busby, Winton Road, Land of Giants, Canard-Duchêne, Whispers and Rock Paper Scissors.
This is Coles Liquor’s latest step towards making its packaging more sustainable. The Australian retailer has also been working towards making its own brand primary packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable. In the last financial year 98.7% of its packaging reached these standards.
“By committing to lighter bottle designs, we aim to reduce packaging material and lower emissions from transport. We also want to support industry more broadly by encouraging continued investment in the design, use, and recovery of packaging across the liquor industry,” said Shae Courtney, national quality and sustainability manager for the business.
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Wirra Wirra, which was founded in McLaren Vale in 1894, has already introduced a new lightweight proprietary bottle, weighing 410g, and joins the Accord “to learn from others” as well as sharing its own insights, sales and marketing director Luke Tyler said.
The winery has previously collaborated with Coles Liquor on a lightweighting project collaboration for a Liquorland exclusive Wirra Wirra McLaren Vale Vineyards Shiraz.
“These initiatives, along with future efforts through the Bottle Weight Accord, will support our goal of lowering our carbon emissions,” Tyler said.
The Bottle Weight Accord, which has just marked its second anniversary, now covers more than 1.5 billion bottles of still wine worldwide.
Delaney Sheridan, operations manager at the SWR, added: “As we reach the Accord’s second anniversary, it’s really encouraging to see more members coming on board. Partnerships between retailers and producers, as with Coles Liquor and Wirra Wirra, show what’s possible when the industry moves collectively around a simple, evidence-based target. Two years in, the Accord’s impact is clear — average bottle weights are coming down, and with them, the industry’s carbon footprint.”
The SWR plans to launch a similar Bottle Weight Accord for sparkling wines later this year.
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