A New Zealand wine has become the first in the world to display the carbon footprint of each individual glass serving on its label – laying bare to the shopper or drinker the full environmental impact of making and transporting it, according to the Guardian.
Each bottle of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc – which takes its name from the highest peak of the range of hills above the town – will display its carbon emissions for a typical 125ml glass.
On the new label the relevant emissions, which are calculated to reflect the environmental impact of factors such as transportation and refrigeration, will be measured separately for every export market. So bottles sold in New Zealand, for example, will carry a figure of 140g CO2, whereas bottles shipped to Australia will display 190g.
A higher figure is due to be calculated for the UK market which will reflect the huge distance involved in shipping the wines here. Experts estimate that a 750ml bottle of wine at 190g CO2 per glass equates roughly to the carbon emissions released by a three-mile car journey. UK drinkers consume £7.6 billion (NZD$15.9 billion) worth of wine imports every year, making the country the world’s largest importer of wine.
Significantly, the wine is the world’s first to be certified by the UK’s Carbon Trust which is leading a drive to influence consumer choice by encouraging universal carbon labelling – using its own Carbon Reduction label – across all products.
This certification is a milestone for the Marlborough-based manufacturer New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC), which has been pursuing sustainable management within the New Zealand wine industry. — Source: Guardian UK
