Amcor & Verallia Work to Reduce Emissions & Waste from Packaging
Carbon credits once again are questioned
Two major packaging suppliers announce sustainable initiatives: Amcor to shift production of closures and capsules to include 60-99% recycled tin depending on production location and recycling ability; glass producer Verallia focuses on reducing emissions from its furnaces by using sustainably sourced electric power; and offering lightweight bottles. Domaine Bousquet, a high volume, global, certified organic producer releases their first sustainability report; carbon credits once again in a negative spotlight; and an interesting paper on how ESG investing should include tax behavior.
Packaging
Zurich, Switzerland: Amcor Capsules, a major player in closures and capsules for wine and spirits, announced a strategic shift by introducing more than 90% recycled tin into its premium tin capsules and sparkling foils range. Press Release via Wine Business
They have established sourcing schemes that will enable the company to use recycled tin from end-of-life products, such as car radiators and batteries, ship propellers and bronze scraps from ornaments or statues.
After recycling, the tin material is adapted and re-used for capsules and capping purposes.
They have received a certificate from Institute Cyclos-HTP, an independent third party that confirms a recyclability of 99%3 for tin capsule in countries where the capsules can be recycled through both glass and metal recycling streams and 60%4 in countries where metal collection and sorting cannot be assumed as predominant.
Global: Pam Strayer delves into glass manufacturer Verallia’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and be more sustainable. Wine Business
The world’s third largest glass manufacturer, the company lit its first all-electric glass furnace a few months ago.
Glass furnaces must run 24/7; and the energy to burn the furnaces accounts for about 60% of the manufacture’s carbon emissions.
In addition to the all-electric furnace in Cognac, Verallia will also be launching a new hybrid furnace that is 80% electric; expected to reduce emissions by 50%.
“Another big challenge for us, noted Verallia USA CEO Felix Lamolinerie, is to make sure that the electricity that we will use to power our plants is coming from low carbon energy. Right now we have Chile, Portugal and Spain that are already 100 percent renewable energy.”
The company’s lightweighting started 15 years ago, Lamolinerie said, and has matured over that period to offer a spectrum of products, including bottles for the toughest category of all–sparkling wines (about 50% of their production is for still and sparkling wine).
In November, Verallia launched its lightest weight Bordelaise Air bottle. It weighs 300 grams; they produce a sparkling bottle that is 830g (verse 900g).
Currently Verallia is using 56% recycled glass, on average, but that number varies with the type of glass. “If you look globally or exactly globally,” he said, “Flint is at 33% and green is at up to 90%. We are investing in a more optimal way to sort the cullet and be able to take any types of collecting and sorting.”
Waste Reduction
New York City: A profile of Afterlife Ag, a mushroom-growing startup that collects restaurant food scraps (from the kitchen, not the diner’s plates) and grows mushrooms at its Queen’s warehouse, then returns them to the kitchens to use in their cuisine. The New York Times
Afterlife Ag harvests mushrooms every day and packs them in five-pound boxes for delivery to its restaurant clients.
It also sells to schools and hospitals but not, for now, to retail customers.
Central Washington State: Efforts to improve local glass recycling by Chris Lueck of Walla Walla have shifted from a glass to sand model; to a glass recycling model. Yakima Herald
In 2019 he started Ground2Ground which collected wine bottles to grind into sand, which can be used in paving and landscaping in place of natural sand.
He has since rebranded the group as BIG Recyclers, switching efforts away from grinding the glass because he found a disinterested market.
He needs to scale for success. Right now, the glass is hauled by truck, which negates any carbon offsets.
To reduce costs and carbon footprint, he wants to use the railroad, but he doesn’t have enough material to ship that way. That’s why he’s looking to surrounding cities to partner with, as he’s done in Walla Walla and Benton City – he’s partnered with 50 wineries and four restaurants in the area.
Diversity & Equity
New Orleans: A profile of Turning Tables, a 12-week program that gives Black and Brown aspiring hospitality professionals a 360-degree view of the spirits, beverage, and hospitality industries; created by industry veteran Touré Folkes. Food & Wine
“Turning Tables is the only organization in New Orleans that offers what we do,” says Folkes. “It provides technical training, education, industry exposure, job placements, and extensive community resources, including mental health care.”
Folkes connects every Turning Tables participant with mentors and externships, both local and nationwide, to help them discover and secure careers in the beverage industry.
Since the program launched in 2019, more than 35% of graduates have been hired directly into management and leadership positions, like lead bartender, bar manager, and wine director.
Dayton, Oregon: The Oregon AAPI Food & Wine Fest will return for year two on May 18 and 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Stoller Family Estate Experience Center in Dayton. Press release via Wine Industry Advisor
Bordeaux, France: Jane Anson and Chinedu Rita-Rosa announce the names of the eight Scholars who will attend the Third Bordeaux Mentor Week, 23rd– 27th September 2024. Inside Bordeaux
Sustainability
Global: We missed this last month, but worth a look – Wine Spectator has published a guide for consumers on how drink wine with less environmental impact.
The guide covers 9 topics – everything from certifications to buying local and the best way to judge glass bottle weight more precisely in store - hold each bottle in a pouring position—you'll feel its weight a lot more on your wrist.
Argentina: Domaine Bousquet has released its first ever 2023 Sustainability Impact Report, prepared in consultation with the Terra Institute in Italy. Press release via Wine Business
Highlights include:
71% of all Domaine Bousquet wines are packaged in lightweight (420 g and under) bottles. Further carbon reductions have been brought about via in-market bottling in the U.S., UK, and Europe.
No vineyard tilling. This change protects the delicate balance of beneficial microbes, helps with water retention, and protects captured carbon from being released into the atmosphere.
Domaine Bousquet has actively helped convert over 2,000 acres of partner vineyards to organic cultivation, offering both practical training and financial assistance.
Grape suppliers receive a partial, advance payment of at least 30% of the grape price for the previous year, fostering economic stability. 75% have been supplying the winery for more than five years.
Climate Change
Bordeaux, France: An interesting look at the appellation St-Estèphe and how it may be uniquely positioned within Bordeaux to benefit from climate change. The Drinks Business
For the 2023 vintage, the average temperature throughout the growing season, and notably from véraison to harvest, was a little above the (rising) ten-year average.
Significantly, there was rather less intense mildew pressure in June than in any other leading appellation of the region.
The piece includes three excellent charts:
one noting rainfall during the vintage (relative to 10-year average)
another with average vineyard yield by appellation (hl/ha)
a third noting percentage of Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon in the grand vin, 2020-23.
Carbon Credits
As part of a subsidy scheme to boost the industry, the Alberta provincial government allowed Shell to register tradable carbon credits equivalent to twice the volume of emissions avoided by its Quest carbon capture facility between 2015 and 2021, the province’s registry shows.
The subsidy was reduced and then ended in 2022. As a result of the scheme, the Shell plant was able to register 5.7mn credits that had no equivalent CO₂ reductions.
Some of the credits from the scheme were sold to top energy companies.
Canada has among the most generous incentive schemes for carbon capture and storage, according to energy research group Wood Mackenzie. But the industry still struggles to be commercially viable even there.
According to Quest’s annual report, its total cost per ton of carbon avoided was $167.90 in 2022, compared with a carbon price for Alberta’s big industrial emitters that year of $50.
Global: Reuters reports on findings in the SBTi staff document that led to staff revolting a few weeks ago when The Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi), a U.N.-backed nonprofit that audits the emission reduction plans of companies, declared its intention to allow use of carbon credits prior to concluding its research on them.
The document reviewed by Reuters states that "higher quality empirical and observational evidence suggests that some or most emission reduction credits are ineffective in delivering emissions reductions."
The draft cites cases where carbon credits have failed to deliver the climate benefits they tout. It states, for example, that one scientific paper it reviewed found no significant evidence that projects in the Brazilian Amazon have mitigated forest loss.
Many of the SBTi's financial backers, including the Bezos Earth Fund, are pushing for adoption, as is former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry. They argue offsets are needed to spur more investment in clean energy and meet a global pledge to reduce emissions to zero on a net basis by 2050.
An SBTi spokesperson said its research on carbon offsets has not been completed and that it would be incorrect to state that there are even interim findings at this stage.
Regulations
Global: When you think of environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, have you ever thought about corporate tax behavior? Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
A recent paper titled The Missing "T" in ESG, argues that amidst the enthusiasm about ESG, a critical parameter has gone virtually unnoticed: corporate tax behavior.
The payment of corporate taxes is a powerful indicator of how a company views its role in society and supports the communities in which it operates and the stakeholders with whom it engages.
To fix the problem and break the vicious cycle, they propose implementing changes on three fronts.
First, ESG rating agencies must incorporate tax considerations into their ratings with considerable weight.
Second, asset managers should explicitly commit to responsible tax behavior in their corporate guidelines and, under certain circumstances, divest from companies whose tax behavior falls below industry peers.
Third, mandatory public disclosure of tax-related information, including adopting a CbCR requirement for all U.S. public companies.
Viticulture
Iowa: AgTechNavigator spotlights PowerPollen, whose technology allows pollen to be collected, preserved, and applied on-demand, for significantly better pollination and higher yields for wind-pollinated crops.
Pollen from wind pollinated crops often only lasts a few hours tops, the technology extends the shelf-life up to four years and allows for custom application.