Iconic New York City
restaurants join high-profile leaders in wine, spirits, hospitality
and design to support the circular economy and local community
projects
NEW
YORK, Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/
-- Leaders from across the hospitality industry, wine and
spirits sectors, and the design community have joined forces to
launch an exciting new sustainability initiative focused on cork
stopper collection and recycling. The initiative, called the Cork
Collective, is fueled by the expertise and passion of its founding
partners—Rockwell Group, Amorim, BlueWell, and Southern Glazer's
Wine & Spirits—and is dedicated to transforming used real cork
stoppers into valuable resources for our cities, showcasing the
material's versatility and circular potential. A 100% sustainable
and renewable material that comes from trees that are never felled,
cork products represent one of the world's great sustainability
stories, which the Cork Collective is excited to share with its
network of thought leaders across various industries.
Through the collection, recycling, and repurposing of natural
cork stoppers, the Cork Collective creates a 'closed-loop' system
where natural resources are reused, upcycled, and regenerated to
minimize waste. Forging hospitality partnerships to institute a
large-scale collection and recycling system, the Cork Collective
connects essential processes and collaborators across the value
chain, encompassing the world's largest wine, spirits and
hospitality markets. This initiative paves the way for a truly
circular economy of natural cork that repurposes stoppers into
materials that can keep significant amounts of CO2—retained only by
real cork stoppers—sequestered for decades, while also supporting
eco-friendly community projects such as playground
revitalization.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the Cork Collective 'loop'
is its role as a conduit, funneling the design and architectural
solutions to communities, and working closely with non-profit and
government agencies. This initiative will use recycled cork
stoppers to help resurface neighborhood playgrounds and tot lots,
benefiting children by creating vibrant communal spaces through
sustainable design across New York
City.
The Cork Collective launched its program in New York this summer with a city-wide
collection program in partnership with restaurants and hotels, with
the goal of scaling up to a nation-wide program over the coming
years. Cork Collective bins made from cork and other natural
materials have been deployed to participating restaurants in
Manhattan and Brooklyn, and an electric vehicle-based
delivery and pick-up system employing custom cork eQuads has been
developed to minimize carbon emissions.
"I am incredibly proud to be a founding member of the Cork
Collective. It represents so much of what inspires and propels
Rockwell Group every day: The opportunity to give back to our
community and make a difference; to turn a hospitality lens on a
new challenge; and to bring together fantastic design and
unexpected collaborators. We have been experimenting with cork for
some time—its adaptability and powerful sustainable qualities make
it a material of the future." - DAVID
ROCKWELL, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, ROCKWELL GROUP
"The U.S. is a crucial market for both wine and spirits, so we
couldn't be happier to be one of the founding members of the Cork
Collective. As the world leader in cork, supplying some 6 billion
corks per year, we have partnered with different institutions
worldwide to give cork stoppers a second life, upcycling them into
applications as diverse as transportation, flooring, architectural
and design products, footwear and even aerospace materials. Cork's
unbeatable sustainability credentials give our clients the ability
to further their contribution to a more sustainable world and the
Cork Collective allows for a truly circular economy to become
embedded in the supply chain." - ANTONIO
AMORIM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMORIM
CORK
"The Cork Collective's mission aligns with our own environmental
sustainability vision—to harness the passion of our people, trading
partners and communities to take measurable environmental action
and contribute to a sustainable, hospitable planet for future
generations. As the preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol, we
sit in a perfect position to connect sustainability-minded wine and
spirits producers, who are also our valued supplier partners, with
this important initiative. We are confident it will make a
meaningful impact throughout our great hospitality industry. -
LEE SCHRAGER, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS
OFFICER, SOUTHERN GLAZER'S WINE & SPIRITS
Joining the Cork Collective's group of high-profile partners are
some of New York's top
restaurants, hospitality groups, and personalities including:
Melba Wilson (Melba's), Simon Kim and Victoria
James (Gracious Hospitality Management: COTE Korean
Steakhouse and COQODAQ), John Ragan,
President of USHG Restaurants and Master Sommelier, and José Andrés
(José Andrés Group at The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad: The Bazaar,
Nubeluz, Zaytinya). Others in support of the collection and
recycling efforts in 2024 include:
- Major Food Group (CARBONE, New
York)
- Marriott (The New York EDITION, W New
York – Union Square, The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central
Park)
- Mercer Street Hospitality (Bar Tulix, Bowery Meat Company, Lure
Fishbar, Smyth Tavern)
- Nobu Restaurants (Nobu Downtown and Nobu Fifty Seven)
- Metropolis by Marcus
Samuelsson
- Le Bernardin
- Carlotto
- Frevo
- Hawksmoor
- Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
- L'Avenue at Saks
- Marlow Collective (Diner, Marlow & Sons, and Stranger
Wines)
- NeueHouse Madison Square
- Oceans New York
- CxRA
- The Paramount Club
Cork Collective and Rockwell Group enlisted 2x4, a global design
consultancy headquartered in New York
City, to create the project's strategy and branding.
Cork by the Numbers
Every year, cork oak forests absorb as much CO2 as driving 1.5
million cars all year would produce, and through the production of
wine and spirits corks, the net effect of a tree producing 1,000
natural corks is that it removes around 250 pounds of CO2 from the
atmosphere. Cork is hand-harvested from the bark of cork oak trees,
making it a 100% natural and renewable resource. This sustainable
material regrows, allowing for repeated harvesting without ever
harming the trees that can live more than 200 years.
Surprisingly, less than one percent of all corks are recycled
each year. When thrown out and sent to a landfill, corks naturally
biodegrade, but, with 13 billion corks produced annually
worldwide—enough to circle the globe 10 times or reach the moon and
back—the potential for circular value capture and upcycling is
immense.
To learn more about the Cork Collective, or to inquire about
joining its cork collection program, visit
https://corkcollective.org. You can also follow the initiative on
Cork Collective's Instagram. For questions about the Cork
Collective, please contact Leah
Isenberg of Colangelo & Partners at
lisenberg@colangelopr.com.
About Cork Collective - https://corkcollective.org
Cork Collective is an initiative fueled by the expertise and
passion of its founding partners—Rockwell Group, Amorim, Bluewell
& Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits—and is dedicated to
transforming cork waste into valuable resources, showcasing its
versatility and circularity. Cork is harvested from the bark of
cork oak trees, making it a 100% natural and renewable resource.
This sustainable material regrows, allowing for repeated harvesting
without harming the trees. Through partnerships with restaurants
and hospitality venues, the Cork Collective collects and recycles
wine corks, turning them into eco-friendly projects. Its
initiatives not only reduce waste, but also support community
projects like playground revitalizations and sustainable design
solutions.
About Rockwell Group - https://www.rockwellgroup.com/
Based in New York with offices in
Los Angeles and Madrid, Rockwell Group is an interdisciplinary
architecture and design firm that emphasizes innovation and thought
leadership in every project. Founded in 1984 by David Rockwell, FAIA, and led by David and
partners Shawn Sullivan and
Greg Keffer, the 330-person firm
merges performance and architecture to create extraordinary
experiences and built environments across the globe. Inspired by
theater, technology, and high-end craft, the firm creates a unique
narrative for each project, ranging from hospitality to cultural
and educational institutions to transportation hubs and Broadway
sets. Honors include the AIANY President's Award; a Cooper Hewitt
National Design Award; a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for She
Loves Me; two Emmy Awards; the Pratt Legends Award; the
Presidential Design Award; the James Beard Foundation Who's Who of
Food & Beverage in America; Interior Design's Icon Award;
Architectural Digest's AD100 Hall of Fame.
About Amorim - https://www.amorimcork.com/en/
Amorim Cork is the largest cork
processing group in the world. Founded in 1870, the company today
has dozens of business units spread across five continents, exports
numerous products to more than 100 countries and has a diversified
network of 30 thousand customers. Basing its operations on strong
sustainability credentials, and developing an activity with a
positive impact on climate regulation, Amorim Cork offers a set of solutions, materials
and articles for some of the most technological, disruptive and
demanding activities on the globe, like aerospace, automotive,
construction, sports, energy, interior design, and wine, sparkling
and spirits industries. Currently under the leadership of the
fourth generation of the family, which cultivates the values of
equanimity, ambition, initiative, pride and attitude—the same as
always during its more than 150 years of successful history. The
company invests millions of euros annually in R&D, and
recorded, in 2023, 986 million euros
in sales, which includes the approximately 6 billion cork stoppers
sold annually, representing 75.9% of consolidated sales.
About Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits -
https://www.southernglazers.com/
Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is the world's preeminent
distributor of beverage alcohol, building brands for moments that
matter. The multi-generational, family-owned Company has operations
in 44 U.S. states, the District of
Columbia, and Canada, as
well as brokerage operations through its WEBB Banks division in the Caribbean, Central and South America. In 2024, Southern Glazer's was
recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for
Diversity and America's Greatest Workplaces for Women. Southern
Glazer's urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market,
sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more
information visit http://www.southernglazers.com. Follow us on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @sgwinespirits.
About BlueWell
BlueWell is the family office of William
Wachtel. It is dedicated to impact investing, supporting
not-for-profits, and bringing to bear novel ways to advance
sustainability goals. BlueWell prides itself in thinking outside
the box. The Cork Collective is the culmination of a journey the
Amorim and Wachtel families embarked upon 15 years ago.
Media Contact
Leah Isenberg, Cork Collective,
6466242885, lisenberg@colangelopr.com,
https://corkcollective.org/
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SOURCE Cork Collective