Sustainability

We promote sustainability. This recycling program is part of a “Green” initiative to reduce energy usage and conserve our precious resources. Through the simple act of cork recycling we can redirect some of the billions of natural corks that end up in the garbage each year, to new and exciting applications. This program is linked to a global initiative to save and protect the over 6 million acres of cork forests that dot the Mediterranean Basin, which are so vital to the local economies, support an ecosystem found only in the montado, and are key to the battle against global warming.

ReCORK's Sustainability Goals

Reduce energy usage.
Reduce petroleum by-product usage.
Cork is a natural CO2 sink. The more cork bark grown and used, the more CO2 taken from the atmosphere.
Help protect and educate about a critical environment, the cork montado.
Help plant trees in the montado.
Encourage sustainable agroforestry practices.

Tree

We carefully consider our transportation options and use the lowest carbon-emitting methods possible. We consolidate our pickups of cork, and will soon establish regional collection centers, using rail and sea shipping methods whenever possible. Currently, the ground cork gets sent to Asia to produce SOLE's products. This is more sustainable than it sounds for a few reasons. First, the ships going back to Asia from North America tend to be empty due to the trade deficit. By using boats that would be empty otherwise, we are creating less of a carbon footprint than we would be if more boats were needed to ship the cork. Secondly, instead of shipping oil from the Middle East we are shipping lighter, sustainable cork from North America. We also encourage our collection partners to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprints as well.

Planting a tree

In addition to the cork recycling, ReCORK and SOLE have pledged to sponsor in 2010 the planting of a minimum of 4 thousand cork oaks in Portugal. The goal is to help offset some of the carbon footprint associated with recycling and to ensure the ongoing health and growth of the region’s forests. This will be a continuing effort on the part of ReCORK and SOLE, to continue planting trees every year. This effort is in collaboration with QUERCUS (the National Association for Nature Conservation), GREEN CORK (Amorim’s equivalent of ReCORK for Portugal), and Criar Bosques, a tree planting effort in Portugal. By the end of 2010, these projects will have planted over 200,000 trees in the name of conservation and forest stewardship.

CORK INFORMATION

Natural cork is made up of billions of cells. This gives cork its buoyant, elastic quality as well as the ability to absorb and retain nearly 9 grams of CO2 throughout the life of a wine cork. And with 13 billion corks sold each year worldwide, cork is an important source of CO2 retention.

When you take the time to compare the features of natural cork against petroleum-based plastic plugs and aluminum screwcaps the difference is significant. In a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study of the life cycle analysis of wine closures, CO2 emissions in aluminum screwcaps were 24 times higher than those from a natural cork closure, while plastic stoppers were 10 times greater than cork. Check out www.corkfacts.com for more information about the study.

Cork Forests (the Montado)

Supplying more than half the world's corks, the Portuguese cork forests are one of the most successful examples of sustainable agroforestry anywhere in the world. Not only is cork itself recyclable, biodegradable and renewable, the cork forests provide valuable habitat for birds and other animals and contribute to a mixed agrarian economy that has sustained farmers for many centuries. The cork oak, which is well suited to the hot, arid conditions of southern Portugal, Spain and Northern Africa, helps protect the soil from desertification and is home to many species, including the wild boar and rare birds such as the black stork and the imperial eagle. Portugal's cork forests are a protected resource, subject to a code of good practice to ensure sustainability of production. Almost nothing is wasted - each part of the cork tree serves an ecological or economic purpose. The world's oldest cork tree is known as the Whistler Tree.

A Sustainable Production Process

Portugal's cork forests are a carefully protected resource. The paramount importance of the cork industry to the Portuguese economy has led to strict regulation of the growth and management of cork trees. The cork oak has been protected to some extent since the early 13th century. Today, Portuguese law bans cultivation of forest groves on hillsides, uphill from water courses or where tilling may loosen the soil excessively. It is illegal to harvest the bark on young trees or cut down a cork oak other than for essential forest thinning or if the tree is decrepit from age. The mature tree may only be harvested for its bark once every nine years and only when the tree is healthy. The laws also require that farmers obtain a special licence to convert land from cork forestry to other forms of agriculture. In addition to these laws, the European Cork Industry Federation (C.E. Liege), through its Project Quercus, has developed a code of good practice for cork production, supported by an independently audited system of accreditation called Systecode. With the help of reforestation programs funded by the European Union and the Portuguese Government, the area of cork forest under cultivation in Portugal is growing by about four per cent a year. Today, new trees are being planted at twice the rate at which old trees are dying. Contrary to a common misconception, it is estimated there is currently sufficient harvestable cork in Portugal's cork forests to meet market demand for more than 100 years.

Forestry and Harvesting of Cork Oak Bark

The process of making a natural cork begins with the careful husbandry of the cork forests, which is divided into two main areas — care of the soil and of the tree itself. The bark of mature cork trees is harvested just once every nine years. Cork trees are not regarded as mature enough for bark harvesting until they are at least 25 years old. Harvesting requires the delicate stripping of the outer bark by skilled workers using specialized cork axes. The stripping is carried out in spring or summer when the tree is growing strongly and the bark comes away easily from the trunk. The tree is temporarily debilitated by the stripping but the outer bark regenerates and the tree continues to flourish.

Complete Use of the Resource

In addition to its ecological value, the cork oak is remarkable in that every part of the tree serves some useful economic purpose. Here are a few examples:

The acorn of the cork tree, as well as being used for propagation, is used as animal fodder and as a source of cooking oils;
The leaves of the tree are used as fodder and as natural fertilizer;
Tree prunings and decrepit trees provide firewood and charcoal;
Various chemical products are made from the tannins and natural acids contained within the wood.

Of course, the most valuable part of the tree is the bark, used for making myriad cork products. More than 50 per cent of the cork bark goes into bottle closures. All of the cork bark is used in production; nothing is wasted. As cork waste is generated in the production process, it is granulated and returned into the process. Even the fine particles of cork dust are collected and used as fuel to heat the factory boilers.

Another great source of cork information is Amorim’s site at corkfacts.com, the Portuguese Cork Association's site realcork.org and the Cork Quality Council at corkqc.com.

Other partners in the protection of the Montado include: