Turning words into action

In the face of it there is little direct action that our various drinks trade bodies can take to tackle the environment, but in terms of setting the agenda and helping to get drinks companies to take green issues seriously, they are fundamental to the process.

To assess what is being done behind the scenes on your behalf in the corridors of power both at Westminter, at the European Union and directly with major drinks firms, we turned to our three principal trade body organisations for their lead.

Having spent the first 10 years of my career working as an environmental lawyer, environmental consultant and environmental policy advisor, I can safely say that the issues haven't changed a great deal.

There has, however, been a massive shift in attitudes towards 'green issues'.

Businesses are starting to see the environmental agenda less as a threat and more as an opportunity and that is good news.

There are profits and savings to be made in minimising your company's impact on the environment and use of resources.

Increasingly, business is keen to do its part, but it is not always clear how.

There is no agreed way of calculating 'environmental friendliness'. The concept of 'food miles' has been rejected by the UK government, instead, the WSTA is working with officials and other trade representatives to develop an international methodology for calculating carbon footprints for wine.

This is likely to be more akin to life cycle analysis than to food miles.

A key target area for CO2 reductions is transportation: not necessarily just in relation to distance travelled, but also method of transport. WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme set up as part of the government's original waste strategy) estimates that shipping wine from Australia in bulk reduces CO2 emissions by 164g per 75cl bottle (a saving of approximately 40% when compared to bottling at source).

No matter which country wine is imported from, bulk importation can generate considerable reductions in CO2 emissions.

Although not suitable for all products, such restructuring of the supply chain can introduce cost savings and efficiency improvements.

In order to meet increased demand for UK bottling, there has been a substantial growth in capacity. From approximately 100 million litres of wine in 2000 and 180m litres in 2006, it is now estimated that by 2009 the UK will have the potential capacity to bottle approximately 350m litres of wine a year.

A WRAP project, involving the WSTA and some member companies, has experimented with combining bottle lightweighting, bulk importation and UK bottling, and has so far resulted in a reduction of 7,000 CO2 tonnes per annum.

Green glass is currently imported in large quantities, but very little is recycled, leading to a growing surplus. Producers are increasingly experimenting with plastic alternatives. Not only are they very versatile and have a comparatively high strength-to-weight ratio, plastics can use high recycled content.

Drinks producers are also experimenting with 'stand-up pouches' and other container formats, which according to research can offer as much as a 60% reduction in life cycle CO2 emissions in comparison to a standard glass bottle.

The wine and spirit industry has some big challenges - packaging from beers, wines and spirits make up nearly 25% of overall packaging waste in the UK. But the projects we are working on at the WSTA show there are also some serious opportunities.

Scotch whisky is renowned as a natural product closely tied to its environment and rural communities across Scotland. Protecting that environment is fundamental to ensuring future industry sustainability.

Distillers are playing their part to the full and are involved in initiatives at both local and national level, minimising environmental impacts responsibly and effectively.

The work is multi-faceted - from reusing draff as animal feed to investments in lightweight glass, to using less raw material and energy. Bottle weights have fallen by 25-30% in recent years, with the industry working on further improvements with bodies like WRAP.

Energy efficiency is a key focus. Innovative technologies such as biomass and anaerobic digestion are being looked at, building on existing schemes that already help to recycle excess distillery energy to heat local homes and facilities. UK distillers can take some pride that the government recognises them as being energy-efficient and that we have successfully met exacting Climate Change Agreement targets.

The Spirits Energy Efficiency Company (SEEC) - a joint venture between the SWA and the Gin & Vodka Association - covers 67 sites across the UK. SEEC participants have improved energy efficiency significantly with energy use per litre of alcohol produced some 13.5% below the 1999 baseline level. While production was up 4% during the period, CO2 emissions were down 10%.

As companies invest in new facilities, the environment is at the forefront of planning. Supporting these efforts, the Scotch Whisky Research Institute continues to study further process improvements, while the SWA is working with its members to develop an industry environmental sustainability strategy.

We must also continue to engage with government so that policy makers understand the impact of environmental measures on our industry. Only then can truly sustainable measures be agreed.

The British Beer & Pub Association has been at the heart of industry efforts to improve environmental performance, monitoring progress in key areas - especially energy and water use - in British breweries.

Progress has been dramatic. For each pint of beer produced, energy consumption per pint has fallen by 54% over the past 30 years.

The biggest strides have been made by larger breweries, which have rationalised plant and invested in new, energy-efficient technologies making UK brewers among the most energy efficient in the world. C02 emissions have been cut by 67% over the past 30 years.

Brewers have also made dramatic cuts in water usage. This also ensures the industry's effluents have sharply fallen. For every pint of beer produced, water use has been cut by 43% in the past 30 years.

The brewing industry is not resting on its laurels and continues to explore ways of reducing its impact on the environment. While refillable kegs and casks are still the most common form of packaging, and are very kind to the environment, the industry is also working on making our bottles lighter and encouraging recycling in pubs and bars.

We are committed to sharing best practice, and have set up a website with protocols for auditing water and energy usage in the brewing and distilling sector. It is an essential platform for spreading best practice, and securing further environmental gains for the future.