The first Sustainability Report issued by Corticeira Amorim has won a commendation in the global CR Reporting Awards 2007.

Developed by CorporateRegister.com, the CR (corporate responsibility) Reporting Awards involved 300 companies from 40 countries representing 39 different business areas. Winners in nine separate categories were announced in Berlin in early March.

In the ‘Openness and Honesty’ category, a sector that lies at the heart of sustainability issues, Amorim’s submission was distinguished as one of the world’s top three entries.

According to CorporateRegister.com: “It is often difficult to assess the truth. This distinction is awarded to the clearest reports, which convince us of the true realities existing within each company.”

Corticeira Amorim chairman and CEO António Amorim said he was proud that the company had received international recognition for the manner in which it communicated its sustainability policies.

“While a culture of sustainability has guided Amorim’s business activity since the 19th century, this was the first time that we had conducted a review of our performance in this area and stated our sustainable development policies,” he said.

Corticeira Amorim’s success in the ‘Openness & Honesty’ category placed it in the top three with corporate giants Bayer and Nike.

The company was also well regarded in the category that acknowledges the ‘Best First Time Report’ with a fifth placing and finished in sixth place from 167 entries for the ‘Relevance and Materiality’ of its Sustainability Report.

Corticeira Amorim released its first Sustainability Report in August last year.

The report highlighted the fact that cork oak forests and the natural cork products derived from the forests are a major carbon sink. It also showed that cork’s role in carbon dioxide retention and the environmentally friendly business practices of leading cork producers such as Amorim place the cork industry at the forefront of sustainable development.

Despite being available for less than five months, Amorim’s Sustainability Report was the most popular item downloaded from the company’s Corkfacts website in 2007 with more than 4300 copies requested.

To download a full copy of Corticeira Amorim’s 2006 Sustainability Report click on the following link Corticeira Amorim 2006 Sustainability Report (3.7 MB)

A study by the UK-based Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has revealed that the carbon impact of bottling wine in light glass bottles with a high recycled content compares favourably with using PET containers.

The WRAP report looked at the carbon impact of production and transportation of 750ml glass and PET wine bottles. It established that significant reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) can be made through reducing the weight and increasing the recycled content of glass bottles.

In its report summary, WRAP said: “Lightweighting bottles has been shown to have benefits in terms of CO2 savings from transport of loads. Consequently, reducing glass bottle weight reduces the quantity of CO2 emissions associated with wine packaging.”

The study showed that a 54g PET container came out only marginally lower than a 365g glass bottle when using the medium estimate for glass production emissions. The higher carbon dioxide emissions arising for PET from manufacture offset much of the savings obtained from its low weight.

In both scenarios, excluding or including end-of-life, the emissions attributed to the 54g PET bottle lay within the range of emissions attributable to the 365g glass bottle.

“This is an important piece of work that demonstrates the positive environmental impact of lightweighting and the incorporation of recycled content,” said Richard Swannell WRAP director of retail and organics programmes.

“It will help inform the wine, packaging and retail industries on the environmental impact of their packaging choices.”

Amorim’s director of marketing and communications Carlos de Jesus said the findings were an important contribution to the emerging debate on using plastic wine bottles versus glass to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“When you add cork's net carbon dioxide retention to the equation it is clear that a lightweight glass bottle with a high recycled content sealed with a natural cork is a winner for the environment,” he said.

“This combination also retains the premium positioning that can only be achieved with wine packaged in a glass bottle sealed with a natural cork.”

The full WRAP study report is available at www.wrap.org.uk/retail

Environmentally friendly.