Wineforces, partner of Green Marine Europe

Green Marine Europe invites you to discover its partners. Interview with Kim van Arkel, Environmental Manager at Wineforces.

WINEFORCES IN A FEW WORDS?

Wineforces is a company that buys and sells wine in France and abroad. Wineforces is 30 years of experience and a strong network of producers around the world. It has a dozen brands, including its leading Tussock Jumper. This one represents a range of 27 wines from 13 countries. It represents more than 12 million bottles sold since its creation in 2012.

WHAT DOES THE MARITIME SECTOR MEAN TO YOU?

For us, the marine sector represents all the commercial activities that import and export goods worldwide.

AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER, WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?

Reduce the environmental impact of Wineforces' activities.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOUR SUPPORT FOR GREEN MARINE EUROPE?

Our industry, of course, is the wine industry. But we also actively contribute to the marine sector: we import and export our wines around the world, mainly by sea.

Since August 2021, we have been transporting three of our Tussock Jumper wines (Zinfandel in the US, Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, and Shiraz in Australia) in bulk, with bottling in Europe. This solution allows us to transport three times more wine in the same container. This is equivalent to a reduction in transport: a container can hold up to 12,000 bottles, while it can hold up to 25,000 liters in bulk.

Nevertheless, for some countries like Chile, Argentina, and South Africa, there is a real need to keep the traffic jam at the origin to maintain the jobs and traditions of origin.

So we need to explore other ways to reduce our emissions. That is why we are working with Surfrider Foundation Europe to contribute to the deployment of Green Marine Europe.

We hope to make our freight forwarders, suppliers, and customers (importers) more aware of the levers of action for more sustainable shipping.