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NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- True to its pioneering spirit, Mumm bottles reached New-York's harbor this September 3, 2024, paving the way for low-carbon shipping. A sailing cargo ship from Le Havre-based TOWT, the largest and most efficient in its class, sailed for New York.
This first crossing demonstrates G.H. Mumm's ambition to make sailing cargo the primary means of transporting its champagnes to the United States in the long term. This important step is part of a global path towards carbon neutrality by 2050, throughout the entire value chain, of which viticulture, packaging, sources of emissions.
PIONEERS IN DECARBONIZED SHIPPING
Champagne Maison Mumm's history with the sea is long and rich, the finest illustration of which is its support of polar explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot on his Antarctic expedition in 1904. One hundred and twenty years later, true to its pioneering spirit, G.H. Mumm did once again take the sea, in line with a commitment to a journey towards decarbonization. Since their first encounter in 2020, it has taken G.H. Mumm and TOWT - TransOceanic Wind Transport- only 4 years to turn their shared vision into reality. It is a partnership based on a pioneering spirit and common ecological convictions.
Having immediately recognized the promise and potential of the young company from Brittany, now based in its home port of Le Havre, G.H. Mumm signed a commitment letter in 2021, enabling TOWT to begin construction of its first sailing cargo ship in Concarneau.
90% of the world's goods are traded by sea, representing over 15% of global CO2 emissions by 2050. An unlimited and predicable resource, wind can provide a reliable and effective solution for reducing the impact of this mode of transport.
The TOWT sailing cargo ship departed from the port of Le Havre on Friday August 9, 2024, for a 14-day voyage. It is not only the largest such vessel ever built in modern history, but also the most powerful in its class:
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81 meters long
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6 cargo holds with a combined capacity of over 1,000 tons
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Over 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a traditional cargo ship.
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Several breakthrough innovations in the maritime field (boat design, sail and mast technologies, wind prediction algorithms, etc.).
G.H. Mumm now plans to make one transatlantic crossing a month, and to increase volumes as the fleet expands. The sailing cargo ship has the added benefit of considerably reducing air pollution, particularly sulfur emissions, of which global shipping is responsible for 18%.
"As a player in the luxury world, G.H. Mumm has a responsibility to set an example by innovating with regard to the environment and making new practices desirable. What was yesterday only an ambitious project for the future, carried out with TOWT, is today a reliable ecological, commercial and technological reality," says César Giron, President of Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët.
"I salute the confidence that César Giron has shown in the TOWT project from the outset. Thanks to his visionary outlook, he has made G.H. Mumm the first shipper to commit to us. There's real satisfaction in seeing these terroir products benefit from low-carbon shipping. It's the right thing to do," adds Guillaume Le Grand, Co-founder of TOWT.
A GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO CARBON NEUTRALITY
G.H. Mumm's initiative is part of the Pernod Ricard Group's path to carbon neutrality by 2050 according to the SBTi, of which it is a member. As such, G.H. Mumm works on scopes 1, 2 and 3, the main carbon emissions being from viticulture, packaging, distillation and transport. Throughout the value chain, from the vine to the consumer, the group is multiplying its initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of its activities.