VINVENTIONS FULLY EMBRACES THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ZEBULON, NC, USA, and THIMISTER, Belgium (December 11, 2018) — Consistent with their intentions of significantly advancing their efforts relating to sustainability, Vinventions, the global leader in Complete Wine Closure Solutions, announces plans to accelerate environmental improvement initiatives and drive fundamental change in the manner by which their products are produced and used by the wine industry at large.
Vinventions’ sustainability strategy is fully aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (“SDG”) and, in particular, SDG 12 which is designed to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”.
In support of this important UN SDG, Vinventions’ sustainability strategy encompasses the following aspects:
Sustainable use of natural resources: Progressing towards their stated goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire corporation, Vinventions advances their initiatives to minimize carbon footprint and natural resource utilization (including water and non-renewable raw-materials) associated with their products and processes. Nomacorc Green Line, formulated from plant-based polymers derived from sugarcane, a 100% renewable raw material source, is but one example. Sugarcane absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere resulting in products having low to no carbon footprint, thereby helping to combat climate change. From the launch of the Nomacorc Green Line, Vinventions reduced CO2 emissions by more than 12,000 tons (1). Other new products from Vinventions based on sustainable, renewable and biodegradable feedstock are planned for near-term market introduction.
Reduction of food losses: Vinventions continues to contribute to the reduction of food losses, namely wine-related waste, through their offering of consistent, TCA-taint-free wine closure products, well supported by specialized oenological equipment and services designed to improve overall wine quality. Thereby, more than 300 million bottles were saved from spoilage (2) by Vinventions products in the last 15 years.
Responsible management of chemicals: Vinventions is reducing the use of chemicals with, as an example, the introduction of SÜBR, the world’s most sustainable micro-agglomerated closure, which utilizes natural cork in combination with a binder derived from natural sources, providing a safe, clean, recyclable and biodegradable alternative to polyurethane glue. Vinventions will stepwise replace polyurethane glue in all its products.
Reduction of waste: Vinventions strives to further reduce waste, both internal and external, through new and ambitious collection and recycling initiatives consistent with Circular Economyprinciples. Vinventions recognizes that, in addition to their efficient lean production processes and the current recycling programs, more can be done to minimize waste. Vinventions is appreciative of the European Commission and its initiatives around Circular Economy and marine litter that will create the right ecosystem of organizations to fuel innovation. Together with their stakeholders, Vinventions is preparing plans for launching major initiatives which will solidify its wine industry leading position in the Circular Economy. As a new initiative, Vinventions is proud to announce its recycling partnership with Nicolas in France. Starting Q1 2019, the 500 Nicolas stores will collect the Nomacorc PlantCorcs™ as well as synthetic closures. All the benefits of this collection program will be used to support the association “Un Bouchon, Une Espérance,” which helps people with disabilities. Vinventions will then recycle the newly-collected closures to produce wine-related products with the ambition to produce a new closure made from recycling to implement a perfect circular economy model.
“Polymer-based products are among the most sustainable solutions if they are sourced from renewable raw materials and if they are reused or recycled,” says Michael Blaise, VP Sustainability at Vinventions.
“Vinventions considers the triple bottom line: Planet, People, Profit,” Blaise adds. “By investing in Sustainability, our goal is to not only to improve its environmental impact, but also to support people, including our customers, our associates and our communities, in their development and to generate long-term prosperity. For Vinventions, sustainability is a long-term journey we take to continuously improve and to create simultaneously positive impacts for all the stakeholders.”
