Sustainability

Being environmentally conscious is a major part of Lanchester’s present & future development.

We aim to be ‘carbon negative’ by the end of 2012, benefitting both us & our customers in both the long & short term, & ensuring we here for many years to come.

Lanchester’s new Inspiral brand is a leader in P.E.T. technology, the first commercially filled plastic bottle to use the Solo oxygen barrier, the latest technology for keeping oxygen out of the wine, increasing the shelf life dramatically.

The use of bottle de-aerators & nitrogenisers means we can give the wines a 24 month shelf life, a first for this product in this size. It is also bio-degradable & very light with the spirals in the P.E.T. giving added strength & adding further to our green ambitions.

In 2008 our group Head Office block was built, encompassing a number of green initiatives; special glass was used for the windows and patio doors, maximizing natural light, yet minimizing heat loss. The building is heated & cooled with an air source heat pump, absorbing heat from outside to heat inside, & low energy auto switch off lights. The building is ‘B’ rated at 38 efficiency.

We’ve also had our huge roof re-enforced so it can hold 234 solar voltaic panels, providing renewable power for site & its operations. These will be equipped with solar tracker units to track the sun, the most efficient available, & once fitted, we will be the 1st commercial enterprise to install these units.

We’re taking our green initiatives to the roads as well with the delivery of 6 new Volvo C30’s and V50’s with drive-e & start – stop technology, the greenest cars available, with less than 103grams of Co2 and 72 mpg. This is the latest installment in our low emission vehicle policy, keeping our travelling emissions down. We plan to trade in our entire fleet 18 cars & 10 lorries for ultra low carbon alternatives.

A major plan upcoming in 2011 is the construction of two wind turbines, providing 1400 MW of power per annum each, more than enough to power our site, with surplus power being sold back to the National Grid.

We are situated high up in the Durham hills with one of the best wind speeds in the UK, between 7.2 & 7.8 metres/sec. This is a huge investment in our commitment to being the UK ‘s ‘Greenest Wine Company’ , and then on aim for Europe. The 3,000 Megawatts of electricity produced will give us a ‘carbon minus’ status, offsetting our transport costs.

By using these various ‘future proofing’ practices, Lanchester aims to make being environmentally responsible an integral part of every facet of our business.