LONDON – Tuesday 19th May 2026: Sakura Sake Shop, one of Japan’s leading sake retailers, and Zevero, a global carbon management platform, have announced the launch of 作 for 2126 (ZAKU for 2126), a low-carbon sake 18 months in the making that reduces emissions by 30% per bottle. Developed in collaboration with Mie Prefecture brewery Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten, the product is now available for purchase domestically in Japan via crowdfunding platform Makuake, and will launch globally through the Sakura Sake Shop website on 9 June.
While other sakes have made sustainability claims through renewable energy or carbon neutrality, 作 for 2126 is the first to substantiate its low-carbon credentials using real product data, with no carbon offsets used. The launch coincides with Sakura Sake Shop’s 13th anniversary, a milestone for a company whose mission has always extended beyond the bottle.
A 100-year vision, built into the product
Sakura Sake Shop was founded in 2013 with a belief that sake businesses have a responsibility to the agriculture and natural systems that make the drink possible. The company’s stated mission—to protect the agriculture and nature that support sake, and contribute to a society where people can live well 100 years from now—is what gave 作 for 2126 its name and direction.
Translating that vision into a commercially viable, scientifically credible product required a different kind of process. Rather than seeking offsets or making high-level commitments, Sakura Sake Shop chose to start with primary data, commissioning a full product carbon footprint (PCF) assessment through Zevero to understand precisely where emissions were generated and where they could be meaningfully reduced.
18 months from concept phase to market
The project began in October 2024, when Zevero conducted a full PCF baseline of Sakura Sake Shop’s flagship 作 label.
In October 2024, a joint project between Zevero and Sakura Shoten was launched with market research and conceptual development as the initial steps. Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten, one of Japan’s leading sake breweries was commissioned and a comprehensive PCF baseline assessment of the brewery’s flagship brand, ‘Saku’, was then conducted. The assessment established that a standard 750ml bottle generated 2.225 kgCO₂e, with manufacturing (35%), rice cultivation (26%), and glass bottles (20%) as the three largest sources.
That data became a roadmap. Zevero modelled the emissions impact of potential interventions before any changes were committed to, giving the team a clear picture of where action would matter most. From there, the work was hands-on: Zevero visited Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten’s brewery and held direct working sessions with Kamio Farm, the rice farmer supplying the brewery, to co-design the agricultural practices that underpin the product’s low-carbon rice claim.
Three key decisions for 30% fewer emissions
作 for 2126 reduces emissions from 2.225 kgCO₂e to 1.559 kgCO₂e per bottle, through three changes:
- Reusable bottles. Switching from single-use glass to a returnable bottle reduces bottle-related emissions by 77%, based on data from the Glass Bottle 3R Promotion Council.
- A different way of growing rice. Working directly with Kamio Farm, the team extended the mid-season drying period—a traditional paddy field practice in which fields are drained and dried mid-grow—by seven or more days beyond the historical average. This suppresses methane emissions from soil bacteria and reduces rice-derived CO₂ by 30% per bottle, in line with Japan’s J-Credit agricultural carbon methodology (AG-005).
- Elimination of wrapping paper. Removing the decorative packaging paper eliminates 0.141 kgCO₂e per bottle with no change to the product itself.
Takeshi Komazawa, founder of Sakura Sake Shop, said: “We’ve spent over a year bringing this dream sake to life. Farmers who grew rice with care for the planet, a company that helped us measure and reduce environmental impact, designers who shaped this concept into form, and the brewery that crafted this beautiful sake — so many people came together to make it happen. This is a sake made with the next 100 years in mind.”
Marvin Mori, CEO of Zevero Japan, said: “Most sustainability work in consumer goods starts and ends with measurement. What Sakura Sake Shop did differently was use the data as a starting point for action, working directly with their brewery and farmers to make changes that are verifiable at every step. That’s what gives this product its credibility, and it’s a model the wider food and beverage industry should be paying attention to.”
Shinichiro Shimizu, CEO of Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten, said: “The land and water that make our sake possible have been central to everything we do at Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten for generations. Working with Sakura Sake Shop and Zevero to develop 作 for 2126 gave us a way to honour that responsibility with the same rigour we bring to the brewing itself. We are proud of what this collaboration has produced, both in the glass and in what it stands for.”
- Zevero
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