SWR Member Interview: What’s the case for PET wine bottles?

By Hanna Halmari

It’s no secret that packaging makes up a significant proportion of wine’s carbon footprint. The Sustainable Wine Roundtable’s research indicates that roughly half of the carbon impact of wine can be attributed to the glass bottle. Whilst many producers are working on light-weighting bottles (see the SWR Bottle Weight Accord), some are also exploring alternative packaging formats.

In this Sustainable Wine Roundtable Member Interview podcast, I speak with Kelsey Kolbo, business development manager – wine & liquor at Petainer, about the opportunities presented by PET packaging. Kelsey shares insights into the environmental and economic benefits of PET wine bottles, from lower carbon emissions to reduced risk of breakage. We discuss the drivers behind the shift to alternative formats, common misconceptions about PET, and more.

SWR is developing a Packaging Choice Framework, offering evidence-based insights into the merits and challenges of different packaging formats. If you’re interested in learning more or supporting this work, please do get in touch!

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About the author

Hanna Halmari
Editor

Hanna Halmari is the editor at Sustainable Wine and head of conferences at Innovation Forum. She specialises in research, conference production, and stakeholder engagement, helping companies tackle supply chain sustainability challenges across agriculture, manufacturing, packaging, and human rights. Hanna holds an MSc in International Development from King’s College London, where she developed a strong interest in political economy and post-communist transformation. She speaks Finnish, Bulgarian, and English, and enjoys travelling and discovering new wines.