The REBO2VINO project concludes with our support as a technical office.
The results of the REBO2VINO project have been presented after 29 months of analyzing the feasibility of reusing glass bottles in the Spanish wine sector for the HORECA channel, applying circular economy principles. The event highlighted the progress made and encouraged the project’s continuity, which is funded by European funds, to further promote sustainability in the wine industry.
At artica+i, we participated in this project alongside the Spanish Wine Federation, Minsait (a company of Indra), Verallia Spain, González Byass, Familia Torres, the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at ESCI-UPF, as well as the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC), Ecovidrio, and Hostelería de España as collaborating partners.
Presentation of REBO2VINO results in Madrid
On February 26, a conference was held in Madrid to present the results of the REBO2VINO project, which, over 29 months of work, developed an analysis of the impact and feasibility of a glass bottle reuse system in the Spanish wine sector for the HORECA channel, applying circular economy principles. As a result of this work, the operational group members have prepared a comprehensive diagnosis of barriers, limitations, and opportunities regarding the hypothesis of implementing a reuse system in the sector, outlining various scenarios and their impact from an environmental, economic, and logistical perspective.
The event featured the participation of Margarita Ruíz, Deputy Director-General of Circular Economy at the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, who opened the conference by explaining the regulatory framework and upcoming legislative developments regarding packaging management in Spain and at the European level.
Next, different representatives of the operational group presented the specific results achieved in the project. First, Trinidad Márquez, Deputy Director-General and Technical Director of the Spanish Wine Federation, presented the project’s objectives and a summary of the work carried out over the 29-month execution period.
Life Cycle Assessment Tool: Environmental Evaluation
Following this, representatives from the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at ESCI-UPF, Alba Bala (Executive Director) and Rosa Colomé (Professor and Researcher in Retail, Logistics, and Sustainability at ESCI-UPF), provided a detailed explanation of the Life Cycle Assessment tool developed to evaluate the environmental impact of reusable bottles and assist wineries in decision-making.
This tool enables the assessment of the environmental impact of implementing reuse in the HORECA channel distribution system compared to the current single-use system. It also considers factors such as transportation and the number of reuses, allowing for adjustments to specific situations and the exploration of different scenarios.
The representatives from the UNESCO Chair presented the conclusions obtained from the environmental and economic feasibility study conducted in the two pilot projects developed within the REBO2VINO project and a potential national extrapolation based on a possible collective reuse model.
Perspectives and Progress in Bottle Reuse
Following this, other members of the operational group participated in the roundtable discussion “The Reuse of Glass Bottles in the Wine Sector: Key Aspects and Future Perspectives.” They shared the main milestones and work carried out by each of them, from the creation of a standardized reusable bottle by Verallia to the two pilot tests conducted by Familia Torres and González Byass in restaurants in Catalonia and Jerez. The discussion also covered the reverse logistics management application developed by Minsait and the consumer perception study on reusable bottles conducted as part of the project.
Participants in the roundtable included Leonor Blázquez (Head of Environment and Sustainability at González Byass), Josep María Ribas (Director of Climate Change at Familia Torres), Sara Rodríguez (CSR & Communication Manager at Verallia), and Marcos Leyes (Sustainability Manager at Minsait), moderated by José Luis Benítez, General Director of the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV).
The conference concluded with remarks from Isabel Bombal, General Director of Rural Development, Innovation, and Agri-Food Training at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. She emphasized the success of public-private collaboration through operational groups such as the one that made the REBO2VINO project possible. She highlighted the wine sector’s active participation in these initiatives in recent years, demonstrating its innovative nature, and encouraged the operational group to build on REBO2VINO’s results through a new project that would allow for an expanded scope in the future.
Our Participation in REBO2VINO
At artica+i, we participated in the Operational Group as a subcontracted member leading its technical office, supporting partners in the project’s technical design, document preparation, consortium coordination, and the technical-economic justification of REBO2VINO.
Additionally, in parallel with these efforts, we designed and implemented a specific communication strategy to publicize the project and its results, as well as to ensure compliance with the requirements set by the funding call for this initiative.
About the REBO2VINO Project
The REBO2VINO project was developed by a supra-regional Operational Group (Madrid, Andalusia, and Catalonia) led by the Spanish Wine Federation and involving nine other entities representing different links in the wine value chain and the product life cycle. These include Minsait (a company of Indra), Verallia, González Byass, Familia Torres, Artica Ingeniería e Innovación (artica+i), and the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at ESCI-UPF, with the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC), Ecovidrio, and Hostelería de España as collaborating partners.
For its implementation, REBO2VINO received funding of €563,721.90, fully financed by the European Union’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under the 2014-2022 National Rural Development Program, with funds from the European Recovery Instrument (EU Next Generation).
