173: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint with Lightweight Wine Bottles

Did you know that standard wine packaging, including the bottle and the process, is 42% of the wine’s total carbon footprint? That statistic is exactly what inspires Erica Landin-Lofving, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vintage Wine Estates to explore alternative packaging. Lightweight bottling positively impacts the full circle sustainability of wine from saving money on glass and transportation to the quality of work for the people lifting cases to less wear and tear on equipment. Erica covers challenges and solutions related to all types of alternative packaging (wine in a bag, wine in a box tetra pak, lightweight glass) including choosing the best packaging for your brand, quality signaling, getting leadership to buy in, what changes will be most sustainable, and educating consumers.

References:

• 171: How to Farm Wine Grapes for Climate Change
• Alloy Wine Works
• How Climate Changes will Change the Wine Climate
• Is Wine in Cans Your New Favorite Format? 
• SIP Certified
• The Changing Landscape Of Sustainability (Video)
• Vineyard Team – Become a Member
• Vintage Wine Estates
• What does a sustainable water strategy look like in the wine industry?
• Why is sustainability now not a choice but a necessity? What does it mean for wine businesses?

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Transcript

Craig Macmillan  0:00 

My guest today is Erica Lofving. She is Chief Sustainability Officer with Vintage Wine Estates. And we're going to talk about sustainable wine packaging today. Welcome to the podcast. Erica.