Cork’s sustainable revolution: from stoppers to aerospace

Cork is one in all nature’s most outstanding supplies. It’s a renewable, biodegradable, and versatile useful resource, cyclically harvested with out damaging the bushes it comes from. It grows within the Mediterranean, the place, for hundreds of years, cork oak forests haven’t solely supported a various ecosystem but in addition acted as important carbon sinks, capturing massive quantities of CO2.

Recognised as World Finance’s Most Sustainable Firm within the Wine Merchandise Business, at Amorim, our function has been to take this naturally sustainable materials and discover new, progressive functions for it. Although most generally recognized for cork stoppers, which we produce at a scale of over 5.6 billion yearly, cork is being utilised in more and more various industries. Our work spans from creating merchandise for the aerospace sector to eco-friendly sports activities infills, demonstrating the adaptability and potential of cork past its conventional makes use of.

Innovating with each stopper
One of many key areas of our enterprise stays the manufacturing of cork stoppers for wine, spirits, and glowing wines. Every day, we manufacture over 22 million stoppers, serving markets like France, Italy and the US. However it’s not about amount – our analysis and growth staff continues to refine the standard and sensory efficiency of those stoppers, making certain they meet the very best requirements.

A crucial a part of our sustainability actions contain accountable forest administration

A serious breakthrough has been our capability to provide cork stoppers with non-detectable ranges of the molecule Trichloroanisole (TCA), a compound that may have an effect on wine. This achievement combines conventional craftsmanship with scientific analysis and innovation, benefitting each winemakers and customers.

Cork processing firms are a driving power in creating an financial curiosity for forest homeowners to take care of their properties. As such, cork stopper manufacturing, as essentially the most valued product on this ecosystem, makes a major contribution to local weather change mitigation, making it a way more sustainable selection than options comparable to aluminium or plastic.

A key precept in our operations is making certain that no a part of the cork goes to waste. Any cork that isn’t used for stoppers is repurposed into different functions, from flooring and insulation to superior supplies for industries like aerospace. This strategy permits us to function inside a 100% round economic system, the place each byproduct is reworked into one thing worthwhile.

Amorim Cork Composites is a chief instance of how this round economic system works. The by-products originating within the cork stopper manufacture are floor down and used to develop progressive merchandise, demonstrating how sustainability and innovation can go hand in hand. With the rising demand for sustainable supplies throughout a wide range of industries, we’re continuously exploring new functions for cork.

Forest administration and local weather motion
Our work shouldn’t be restricted to what occurs within the manufacturing facility. A crucial a part of our sustainability actions contain accountable forest administration. Cork oak forests not solely provide the uncooked materials we’d like but in addition play an important function in capturing CO2. Now we have applied progressive practices to make cork oaks extra resilient to local weather change, pests, and illnesses, whereas additionally planting new forests and enhancing the well being of current ones.

The truth is, by way of a mix of analysis and intervention, we’re engaged on lowering the time it takes for the primary cork harvest from 25 years to only 10–12 years. This will increase the financial curiosity and viability of the forest.

For each tonne of cork harvested, the forest is able to sequestering as much as 73 tonnes of CO2

Cork oak forests are one of many world’s pure carbon sinks: for each tonne of cork harvested, the forest is able to sequestering as much as 73 tonnes of CO2. This capability to seize carbon and retain carbon for lengthy durations of time, because the tree shouldn’t be lower down and lives a median of 200 years, makes cork one of the environmentally pleasant supplies obtainable as we speak.

In keeping with a life cycle evaluation performed by PwC Naturity, cork stoppers are considerably superior to synthetic closures in 5 of the seven indicators analysed. Particularly, non-renewable vitality consumption, strong waste era, contribution to the formation of photochemical oxidants and the contribution to the eutrophication of floor waters and greenhouse gasoline emissions. These findings reinforce cork’s place as a sustainable materials with vital environmental advantages, notably in lowering our carbon footprint.

Greater than 150 years of historical past
Corticeira Amorim is the most important world exporter of cork and the oldest cork firm on the planet in steady operations since 1870. We’re additionally the world’s largest cork processing firm, with a presence in nearly 30 international locations in 5 continents and the most important distribution community within the sector. Now we have a diversified consumer base of over 30,000 clients and greater than 93 p.c of our gross sales are made outdoors of Portugal, the place we’re based mostly.

Sustainability is deeply rooted in Corticeira Amorim’s DNA, and we’re proud to see our efforts recognised with this award, which highlights our dedication to environment friendly useful resource administration, sustainable consumption, course of circularity, ecosystem safety, and the event of our individuals.