Two Australian wine leaders have joined the Sustainable Wine Roundtable’s Bottle Weight Accord, reinforcing their commitment to packaging sustainability and carbon reduction.
Coles Liquor and Wirra Wirra are the latest signatories to the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Bottle Weight Accord (BWA), a global initiative marking its second anniversary this month. The accord now covers more than 1.5 billion bottles of still wine worldwide, with participants pledging to reduce the average bottle weight to 420 grams per 750ml.
Shae Courtney, national quality and sustainability manager at Coles Liquor, said the decision aligns with the retailer’s broader sustainability targets.
“Joining the Bottle Weight Accord reflects Coles Liquor’s broader commitment to packaging sustainability through innovation and collaboration with industry partners,” Courtney said. “By committing to lighter bottle designs, we aim to reduce packaging material and lower emissions from transport. We also want to support industry more broadly by encouraging continued investment in the design, use, and recovery of packaging across the liquor industry.”
Coles Liquor, which operates more than 900 Liquorland stores across Australia, reports that 98.7 per cent of its Own Brand primary packaging is now recyclable, reusable or compostable. Many of its exclusive wine brands, such as James Busby, Winton Road, and Land of Giants, will benefit from the lightweighting approach.
Wirra Wirra, a heritage McLaren Vale winery established in 1894, has also embraced lighter glass. Luke Tyler, sales and marketing director, said the winery has recently introduced a new proprietary 410-gram bottle without compromising design integrity.
“We’re proud to join the Bottle Weight Accord as part of our ongoing commitment to reducing environmental impact,” Tyler said. “Endorsement and encouragement from major retail partners such as Coles is vital to give wineries the confidence to take these important steps.”
The new bottle will begin appearing in stores by Christmas, following a successful collaboration with Liquorland on a lightweight Wirra Wirra McLaren Vale Vineyards Shiraz.
According to SWR operations manager Delaney Sheridan, the growing number of signatories demonstrates the effectiveness of industry-wide collaboration.
“Two years in, the Accord’s impact is clear: average bottle weights are coming down, and with them, the industry’s carbon footprint,” she said. “Partnerships between retailers and producers, as with Coles Liquor and Wirra Wirra, show what’s possible when the industry moves collectively around a simple, evidence-based target.”
The SWR plans to extend the initiative in 2025 with a new bottle weight accord for sparkling wines, continuing the global shift toward lower-impact packaging in the wine sector.
