From the Roundtable: Foundations for the Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord

The glass bottle is often the single largest contributor to a wine’s carbon footprint, sometimes accounting for more than half of it. In response, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) began researching the lightweighting of still wine bottles a few years ago. This work led to the development of the Bottle Weight Accord (BWA), launched in 2023. Under the Accord, participants commit to reducing the average weight of their 750ml still wine bottles to below 420 grams by the end of 2026.

Since its launch, the BWA has gained significant traction. With over 20 global companies now involved, the Accord covers approximately 7.5% of all wine sold. As the initiative continues to make progress, the natural next step is to expand into the sparkling wine sector.

The SWR recently published its first progress report, laying the foundation for a Sparkling Bottle Weight Accord. In this podcast, Hanna Halmari and Dr Peter Stanbury, SWR’s head of research, discuss the report’s findings, the unique challenges of sparkling wine packaging, and the next steps for a Sparkling Wine Accord.