Sainsbury's - the second largest supermarket chain in the UK - has recently announced that all cork closures used in its wines will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) from 2010. This announcement was made after the establishment of a partnership between Sainsbury's and CORTICEIRA AMORIM - Sainsbury's sole cork supplier - and is aimed to preserve the cork oak forest, an ecosystem that provides valuable environmental services.
CORTICEIRA AMORIM has been committed over the last year to ensuring that the largest possible number of cork stoppers is made in accordance with the principles set by the Forest Stewardship Council for a sustainable forest management.
Remember that CORTICEIRA AMORIM, anticipating the needs of the wine industry, was the first packaging company in the world to gain FSC® certification, offering its costumers the possibility of using natural cork from sustainable cork oak forests managed in accordance with demanding international standards.
One of the first wines to be bottled with the new cork will be Sainsbury's award-winning Blanc du Noirs Champagne, which has been selling at a rate of almost 10,000 bottles per week in the run up to Christmas celebrations.
All FSC® certified corks are stamped with the FSC® logo so customers know that the cork comes from well managed forests.
Sainsbury's wine maker, Barry Dick, said: "The type of closure we use is based on a number of factors including quality, style and appellation laws which stipulate the stopper that best suits each individual wine. Where we use cork, it is important to us to make sure that the harvesting of that cork makes a positive contribution to the wildlife in the area, while at the same time managing traceability, consistency and quality to ensure our wines taste their best. Our shift to FSC® certified corks will make a huge difference, particularly when you consider that we sell over 6m bottles sealed with cork closures every year. We're aiming to bottle all 6m using FSC® certified cork by the end of 2010, and we're starting straight away by producing the first bottle at the end of January."
Victor Ribeiro, Stopper Division CEO at Amorim - Sainsbury's sole cork supplier, and the first packaging company to gain FSC status - commented: "The UK wine trade makes a vital contribution to the maintenance of this unique triple bottom-line balance between environmental, social and economic issues. Because 70% of the value-added income created by natural cork comes from its wine and champagne stopper application, the kind of leadership demonstrated by Sainsbury's goes a long way to help support a more sustainable trade."
Julia Young, Manager of WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) in the UK said: "The fragile, other-worldly cork oak forests are part of the unique natural heritage of the Mediterranean; a valuable and threatened forest region right on our doorstep. WWF wants to thank Sainsbury's for its excellent commitment to the use of FSC® certified corks, helping maintain the sustainability of cork oak forest landscapes by supporting vital livelihoods and habitats. Leadership like this sets the bar for UK retailers, as Sainsbury's achieve a first going into the New Year, and an iconic forest habitat faces a more secure future. "
Charles Thwaites, Executive Director of FSC® UK, said: "FSC congratulates Sainsbury's for going that extra mile in seeking to source so many of its timber-based products from responsibly managed forests. We tend to associate trees with everyday goods such as timber, paper and tissues. But supporting the cork industry so that cork-oak forests continue to thrive is vital to the local ecology, especially in the Iberian Peninsula. We hope Sainsbury's example will tempt other companies to make similar commitments and together we will preserve these precious landscapes and habitats."
