MA Silva Independent Study Reveals Negative Carbon Footprint for MA Silva’s Cork Stoppers
The study, led by the independent consultant KPMG International, has concluded that MASILVA’s – Natural, Micro and Sparkling wine corks – have a negative carbon footprint.
The Forest – where all environmental work happens.
With 2.2M hectares, located in the Mediterranean Basin, the cork oak forest represents a tremendous asset for the region in terms of environmental impact, ecosystem protection and social dynamics. Cork industry is strictly linked with this green Hotspot, from where it recollects the precious raw material, that is cork. Annually, the Montado forest is responsible for the retention of more than 14M tons of CO2, impacting directly the on the greenhouse gases effect.
About the study – consciousness and independent consultancy
Conscious of the importance of sustainability today, MASILVA had the responsibility to share with its stakeholders the carbon footprint proceeding from its industrial activities, reflected on its products. The independent consultant KPMG International led the study for more than 6 months, analyzing the complete environmental footprint of natural, sparkling wine and micro agglomerated corks.
The calculation of the carbon footprint was performed through the Footprint Expert tool. The information supporting the calculation of the footprint refers to the year 2020. The analysis is carried out from a cradle-to-gate perspective, including, the later transport of stoppers to a customer in the Champagne region, France. The functional unit of the footprint calculation was 1000 cork stoppers. The environmental indicators considered were energy consumption (non-renewable sources) and atmospheric emissions (greenhouse gases, methane, CH4, and nitrous oxide, N2O).
The calculation method had consideration of the following premises:
– Negative impact – Carbon sequestration calculation resulting from the cork oak forest.
– Positive Impact – Emissions from energy use in production units. Emissions from the production and transport of chemical materials. Emissions resulting from the use of combustion-powered transport.
The Results – negative numbers with positive effects
One Natural cork stopper can retain up to 267,7g of CO2. The sparkling wine cork up to 589,2g of CO2. Last, the micro agglomerated cork up to 323,3g of CO2.
These results show that a single cork stopper can offset the carbon footprint of a glass bottle, as a packaging component.
About MASILVA:
MASILVA is the top premium cork stoppers producer, and a world technological leader in the cork industry, since 1972. Located in Portugal, this family-owned company has 3 production units located in the north of Portugal, at Mozelos, and one raw material center in Alter do Chão, at the heart of the cork oak forest region. Worldwide, MASILVA has 7 finishing units: EUA, Brazil, Chile, Spain, France, China and Australia. MASILVA produces more that 600M cork stoppers per year.
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