Familia Torres participated yesterday in the official kick-off meeting of the REBO2VINO innovation project, whose main objective is to carry out an analysis of the impact and viability of a glass bottle reuse system in the Spanish wine sector, applying the principles of the circular economy.

The project will be developed by a supra-autonomous Operational Group (Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia) led by the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) and with the participation of 9 other entities representing different pieces of the wine value chain and the product life cycle: Familia Torres, Minsait (Indra), Verallia Spain,  González Byass, Artica Ingeniería e Innovación (artica+i), the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, and, as collaborating partners, the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC), Ecovidrio and Hospitality of Spain.

The complementarity of the participants in the project will allow to objectively analyze the feasibility and the main critical points of implementing a system of reusable glass bottles in the wine sector for the Horeca channel at a national level and lay the foundations to extrapolate the model at European level.

This innovation project foresees the realization of a market study and the design and implementation of an experimental pilot test to check the environmental, technical and economic impact of a possible reuse system, as well as the creation of digital tools for the management of reverse logistics and to facilitate communication between bottlers, the logistics sector and the Horeca channel.

In addition, it is planned to develop a reusable bottle that could serve as a standard model to favor the reuse system, as well as a complete environmental analysis of this reusable wine bottle applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology of the European Union.

All the data obtained throughout the different phases of the project, whose estimated duration is 29 months -until March 2025-, will allow us to know if reuse is an efficient solution for the wine sector and in which cases it can represent a real opportunity to reduce the environmental impact associated with packaging and reduce waste generation,  in line with the circular economy commitments that are marking the new national and European packaging regulations. In addition, the project will provide the wine sector throughout its value chain, tools that facilitate its implementation in those cases in which reuse supposes an environmentally efficient and viable solution from a technical and economic point of view. These tools will be included in a Guide of Good Practices.

REBO2VINO has a grant of € 563,721.90 fully financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union, within the framework of the National Rural Development Program 2014-2022, with funds from the Instrument of European Recovery (EU Next Generation).

For more information visit the project website: https://rebo2vino.es/