Overview
The report provides an overview of life cycle assessment (LCA) of Australian wine at the time of publication. Updating a 2016 sector-level assessment using Sustainable Winegrowing Australia data (2018–19 to 2020–21), it estimated the indicative cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of Australian still wine at 1.05 kg CO2e per litre, about 10% lower than in 2016. More renewable electricity was the main driver, with more bulk exports and higher glass recycling rates also contributing. Glass packaging, winery electricity, vineyard diesel and distribution were the main emission hotspots. Footprints ranged from 0.48 kg CO2e per litre for domestic cask wine to 1.25 for bottled exports. Lighter bottles, alternative packaging and exporting in bulk were identified as reduction strategies, while heavier premium bottles increased emissions. The results are indicative and not intended for comparative claims.
A sector level LCA of the Australian wine industry was undertaken by the Australian Wine Research Institute in 2016. Since then, the science and practice of LCA has advanced and the Australian wine sector continues to progress and evolve with domestic and global challenges and successes. This project aims to update the 2016 Australian wine industry LCA in line with current international standards and best practice, to see how sector level changes have influenced the greenhouse gas emissions of Australian wine production and distribution.
The LCA drew on data from Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, as well as data from peak bodies within the wine industry, both nationally and internationally. Further supporting data was provided through Australian and globally recognized energy, transport and agriculture databases to ensure emission models and data quality was at a high level to facilitate the outcomes.
The analysis showed that indicative cradle to grave carbon footprint of Australian Wine was 1.05 kg CO2e per L. Several hotspots were identified that contributed significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions of the product including gas packaging, winery electricity, vineyard diesel use and product distribution. Several strategies were discussed to help reduce these emissions, including further light weighting of bottles, shifting to alternative packing and distribution to export markets in bulk.
The results obtained in this study represent a 10% reduction in emissions for Australian wine comparative to the 2016 study undertaken by the AWRI (1.16kg CO2e/L). The most significant change between the two models is the penetration of renewable energy sources impacting upon the Australian state and country electricity shift. Increases in the proportions of bulk wine export and the glass recycling rate increases within export and domestic markets further drove emissions reductions.
Abstract
An update of the 2016 Australian wine industry life cycle assessment was undertaken in line with current international standards and best practice. The analysis showed that the indicative cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of Australian still wine is 1.05 kg CO2 per L.
Several hotspots were identified that contributed, significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions of the product including glass packaging, winery electricity, vineyard diesel use and product distribution. Several strategies were discussed to help reduce these emissions, including further light weighting of bottles, shifting to alternative packing and distribution to export markets in bulk.
The results obtained in this study represent a 10% reduction in emissions for Australian wine comparative to the 2016 study undertaken by the AWRI (1.16kg CO2e/L). The most significant change between the two models is the penetration of renewable energy sources impacting upon the Australian state and country electricity mix. Increases in the proportions of bulk wine export and glass recycling rate increases within export and domestic markets further drove emissions reductions.
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