One Year of the Bottle Weight Accord

Celebrating Growth with New Signatories and the First Annual Report

We are very pleased to announce three important new signatories to the SWR Bottle Weight Accord (BWA). Accolade Wines and Albert Heijn, major winery and supermarket group respectively, join with boutique Stellenbosch winery Botanica Wines in committing to lowering the average bottle weight of their wine ranges to 420g per 75cl bottle.

Accolade and Albert Heijn are the latest large businesses to sign up as we enter the second year of the BWA. Late in 2024, the Catena Institute of Wine, Vina Concha y Toro and Boutinot Wines all added their names to an impressive roster which includes Tesco, Endeavour Wines from Australia and the Systembolaget monopoly in Sweden. Botanica Wines occupy the opposite end of the size spectrum, with their award-winning wine range produced by self-taught winemaker Ginny Povall.

Ginny Povall explains her reasons for joining the BWA:

“As part of my commitment to being carbon-neutral, I discovered that tackling indirect Scope 3 carbon emissions from packaging had a bigger impact on reducing my carbon footprint than my substantial capital investments in our solar plant and electric vehicle. So I prioritised reduced bottle weights for all of my bottlings starting in 2023, and now 100% of wines bottled in 2024 are in lightweight bottles.

My hopes in joining the Accord are to make more consumers aware of how big of an impact lightweight bottles have on a winery’s carbon footprint, and try to get support to push our local glass manufacturer to produce a lightweight option.”


Accolade Wines has also embraced lightweighting as a sustainability priority. Emma Gibson, Sustainability Manager, highlights the importance of collaboration within the BWA:

“Glass lightweighting has been an important focus for Accolade Wines since we began working on this initiative in 2022. We are keen to be a part of the Bottle Weight Accord and to share best practice within this important area and to understand how we can overcome the remaining hurdles.”


For Albert Heijn, joining the Accord aligns with broader sustainability goals. Barbara Houtzager, Sourcing Manager for Wine, explains:

“More sustainable packaging is one of our goals, so the signing of the accord strengthens our strategy and helps us to reach lower bottle weights.”       

Release of the First Annual Report


To commemorate the first anniversary of the Bottle Weight Accord, we are thrilled to release The Bottle Weight Accord: A lightweight(ing) report. This inaugural report highlights the Accord’s significant progress and the lessons learned from its members during the past year.

The report showcases the Accord’s remarkable growth: from eight founding signatories to 20 participants representing more than 1.5 billion bottles of wine annually—approximately 5% of global wine production.

We invite you to explore the report for detailed insights into how members are tackling bottle weight challenges, driving innovation, and fostering collective action in the wine industry.

Looking Ahead

Reflecting on the Accord’s progress, Dr. Peter Stanbury, Research Director at SWR, remarked:

“The fact that we are able to announce three new members at once demonstrates that the Accord has now developed an irresistible momentum.”

As the Accord moves into its second year, the next steps will involve supporting members in reporting their progress toward the 420g target. To streamline this process, the SWR has developed user-friendly reporting templates and is creating additional resources to help smaller producers like Botanica Wines source lightweight glass and navigate reporting requirements.

This milestone year for the Bottle Weight Accord demonstrates the potential for industry-wide collaboration to achieve tangible sustainability goals. To learn more about the Accord and how you can contribute to this initiative, visit our Bottle Weight Accord page.

Signatories

Accolade Wines

Albert Heijn

Botanica Wines

Catena Institute of Wine

The Wine Society

Boutinot

Tesco

Systembolaget

Whole Foods Market

Alko Oy

Viña Concha y Toro

Terra Vitis

AS Vinmonopolet

Naked Wines

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Waitrose & Partners

Direct Wines

Virgin Wines

Endeavour Group Limited