Lightweighting of glass 
 bottles has become an 
 important initiative in the winery industry worldwide in an attempt to reduce carbon footprints and the costs of bottles and transport, explains environmental and sustainability consultancy
WSP Environment & Energy 
director Sean Doel.

The project, called GlassRite, is driven by UK organisation Waste 
& Resources Action Programme (Wrap), which is motivated by a UK directive to achieve certain 
savings in terms of packaging in the country. It started promoting 
the lightweighting of glass bottles, 
as most of the stock sold in the UK is overspecified in terms of the thickness of bottles. WSP has been facilitating and supporting Wrap, in terms of a lighter-weight product from global suppliers 
entering the UK.

Doel explains that major 
retailers in the UK need to 
reduce packaging to improve their carbon footprint, which, in turn, places pressure on sup-
pliers. There are also potential carbon tax implications for both the UK and South Africa, meaning that the lightweighting of 
bottles will become a commercial imperative in future.