Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is an organization founded by various players in the wine industry: wine producers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and more. Systembolaget (the Swedish retail state monopoly) was one of the founding members.
Now more than 20 companies are involved; together they produce and sell more than 3 billion bottles of wine, around 10% of global wine production and sales.
In 2023, SWR established a bottle weight agreement for its members. The goal is an average weight of 420 grams. During the first two years of the agreement, the average weight of a bottle decreased from the previous average of around 550 grams to 430 grams.
This resulted in carbon dioxide savings of almost half a million tons, equivalent to the emissions of cities such as Cambridge in the UK and Hollywood in California.
It is believed that the target of 420 grams will soon be reached.
Reducing the weight of the wine bottle will improve sustainability both through the manufacturing of the glass and the transportation of the bottles. It will also make it easier for you and me to carry the bottles home.
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