Reduction of carbon footprint by using recyclable bottles—A case study on Austrian wine

Abstract

A decarbonized society can only become reality if all potential greenhouse gas is leveraged. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to scrutinize all processes, to assess whether a high level of energy and material efficiency has been achieved and whether renewable energy sources are used to the maximum extent. In this investigation, we were investigating the corporate carbon footprint of a winery in Austria. All data, energy and material inputs were taken within the framework of a scenario analysis for one hectare of vineyard with a yield of a 5-year average of 5380 L. The energy and material input in a winery in Austria under the system limit considered in these calculations results in a GHG emission of about 1.04 kg per L of bottled wine (or 0.78 kg per 0.75-L bottle). On the other hand one kg of grapes would therefore cause 0.24 kg of CO₂e.The GHG emissions for the production of a wine bottle in Austria causes 0.328 kg CO₂ equivalent emissions. The GHG emissions for washing (0.011 kg CO₂ equivalent emissions per bottle), on the other hand, amount to only 3.4% measured against a new bottle in Austria. The bag-in-box system can only be used once. This system leads to 59% higher GHG emissions per L compared to reusable bottles on the basis of 12 filling cycles (system sustainability – lightweight bottles). At a refill rate of 50% in a winery, GHG emissions are reduced to 4367 kg per ha (−32% compared to normal and new glass in the winery). The calculations show that refilling the wine bottle has the highest savings potential. Measures to achieve this multiple use should be implemented as soon as possible in the wine industry.