New Zealand wine first in world to come with carbon footprint label

 

The carbon footprint of a glass of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc that has made its way from the vineyards of New Zealand to the UK is equivalent to a 5km car journey. Library / Alamy/Alamy Scrutinising bouquet, viscosity and finish on the palate is no longer enough for the accomplished wine connoisseur. Now they can consider a vintage's environmental credentials – for one brand at least. A New Zealand wine has become the first in the world to display the carbon footprint of each individual glass serving on its label – laying bare to the shopper or drinker the full environmental impact of making and transporting it. Each bottle of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc – which takes its name from the highest peak of the range of hills above the town – will display its carbon emissions for a typical 125ml glass. On the new label the relevant emissions, which are calculated to reflect the environmental impact of factors such as transportation and refrigeration, will be measured separately for every export market. So bottles sold in New Zealand, for example, will carry a figure of 140g CO₂, whereas bottles shipped to Australia will display 190g. A higher figure is due to be calculated for the UK market which will reflect the huge distance involved in shipping the wines here. Experts estimate that a 750ml bottle of wine at 190g CO₂ per glass equates roughly to the carbon emissions released by a three-mile car journey. UK drinkers consume £7.6bn worth of wine imports every year, making the country the world's largest importer of wine. Significantly, the wine is the world's first to be certified by the UK's Carbon Trust which is leading a drive to influence consumer choice by encouraging universal carbon labelling – using its own Carbon Reduction label – across all products. This certification is a milestone for the Marlborough-based manufacturer New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC), which has been pursuing sustainable management within the New Zealand wine industry. Craig Fowles, NZWC's sustainability manager, said: "It's a very important certification as it is a full-life cycle carbon approach. Recently the Carbon Trust in the UK announced that sales of products carrying its carbon reduction label will shortly top £2bn per annum." Fowles admitted that with consumers watching their spending, price is the dominant factor for wine producers at the moment: "Ethics and the environment are lower priorities. But after the recession, people will be looking for products that give them a warm fuzzy feeling." But Mike Berners-Lee, author of How bad are bananas? The carbon footprint of everything, questioned the methodology used by the Carbon Trust. "There are real problems with it. "Most people who have a good understanding of the issues would say that it is unfit for comparisons between products – and Defra commissioned a review of it which came to precisely that conclusion." But Diane Mann of the Australian environmental group Planet Ark said: "The Carbon Reduction label helps people easily identify products that are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint. By choosing products that carry the label, consumers are supporting companies that are working towards a more sustainable future." A spokesman for the Wine and Sprits Trade Association welcomed the move, but said a consistent approach was necessary: "Having launched a carbon calculator enabling companies to calculate their transport related emissions we're well aware of the interest in this area. The global wine sector is currently finalising guidelines for calculating overall carbon emissions to ensure that any information provided to consumers is accurate and based on the same methodology." Meanwhile, manufacturers and retailers are devising their own solutions to reducing the carbon footprint of wine. A Cambridge-based company Green Bottle has produced eco-friendly "10:10" wine, using lighter PET bottles as standard. The company is supporting the 10:10 carbon reduction campaign.