Yealands Wine Group have announced they are committed to lowering carbon emissions by 80% by 2045 and 50% by 2030.
Yealands has already reduced its emissions intensity by almost 20% in the past five years.
This objective comes as it joins a global group that aims to decarbonise the wine industry.
The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) is a collective working group committed to tackling the severity of the climate crisis by creating climate leadership in the wine industry. Yealands is one of six in the IWCA alongside other winemakers from Chile, Portugal, Spain, and the USA.
Tiffani Graydon, CEO of Yealands Wine Group says, “We’re delighted to join IWCA and work collaboratively with other sustainability leaders in the industry to make a global difference, both now and in the future.
“We hope other winemakers join us, and we’re really happy to share what we’ve learnt. Our membership is a great opportunity for us to benchmark ourselves against global leaders in the wine industry and this is very powerful.”
Since its establishment in 2008, Yealands has strived to be a leader in sustainable wine production. Yealands is the first Toitū carbonzeroCertTM certified winery and the only one in New Zealand to currently hold this certification.
As part of its existing sustainability commitments, the winery uses approximately 25% of multiple renewable energy sources to minimise its environmental footprint. Solar panelling produces more than 400,000 kWh per year, which helps to power the winery.
In addition to this, Yealands bales and burns a portion of its vine prunings in large burners which are used as an energy source and help to eliminate more than 160 tonnes of CO2 each year. Yealands also has two wind turbines that generate additional power for the winery.
Their other initiatives include their introduction of inter-row cover crops to improve soil quality and reduce diesel use. They also have a facility on-site to compost all grape marc (the solid remains after the grapes are pressed) and are phasing out CCA treated vineyard posts.
Environmental enhancement is also important to Yealands. They have introduced a Yealands Wines Marlborough Sustainability Initiative. This is an annual $100,000 community fund for local biodiversity projects. The first round of recipients was announced earlier this year.
See the full range of their sustainability initiatives on yealands.co.nz.
