Co-op Lightweights Wine Bottles

by | Apr 9, 2013

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The Co-operative has reduced the weight of its own-brand wine bottles, saving 725 metric tons of glass and more than 556 metric tons of CO2 per year, according to the company.

The UK grocery chain worked with its supplier, Kingsland Wines and Spirits, on lightweighting the glass bottles. It says the new bottles have a similar shape and a slight reduction in height. In addition to cutting energy and resources used to produce the bottles, lightweighting also means the Co-op won’t have as much weight to transport, thus saving fuel.

According to The Grocer, the weight of varietal bottles decreased 14 percent, while the weight for entry level dropped 11 percent — the lightest a Bordeaux-style bottle possible, the Co-op told the online magazine.

In the Co-op’s latest Ethical Plan, published last month, the company says it has achieved a 15 percent weight reduction in packaging. It is now planning to reduce the environmental impact by a further 15 percent by the end of 2013 and increase its carrier bag reduction target to 75 percent.

Coca-Cola’s systemwide lightweighting program resulted in an estimated cost-savings of approximately $200 million over two year, according to the company’s 2011/2012 sustainability report. Coke has trimmed the weight of its 20-ounce PET plastic bottle by more than 25 percent, shaved 30 percent from the weight of its 12-ounce aluminum can and lightened its 8-ounce glass bottle by more than 50 percent, the report says.

Last year, Packaging firm PI created a jar for coffee brand Kenco that uses 28 g (1 oz) less glass than its predecessor and Sonoco created a jar for Kraft peanut brand Planters that weighs 84 percent less than its predecessor.

In 2011 Diageo published its first sustainable packaging guidelines, setting 2015 goals to reduce average weight by 10 percent, increase recycled material content by 20 percent and ensure 100 percent of packaging is reusable, recyclable or “suitable for waste management practices.”

Photo Credit: The Co-operative

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