Zeroing in on sustainable wines in NZ

New Zealand Winegrowers has released the New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050, which was launched as part of the Altogether Unique 2024 annual wine celebrations held on 30 August in Wellington.

New Zealand Winegrowers’ Environment Committee Chair, Fabian Yukich, said the NZ wine industry needed a pathway on how to achieve its goal of net zero by 2050, stating, “Climate change is the biggest long-term challenge facing our industry. It will influence our choice of grape varieties, wine styles, viticultural techniques and regions and, importantly, the purchase decisions of our customers. Our response to climate change is critical to the reputation of New Zealand as a producer of high-value, sustainable, premium-quality wine.”

Produced by thinkstep-anz, the roadmap was made possible through the support of EECA (the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority). It identifies the industry’s current greenhouse gas emission footprint and, consistent with the industry’s goal, sets out where the wine industry needs to be at 2030, 2040 and 2050. It also offers vineyards and wineries practical options for innovation that will help the industry to reduce its emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible.

The five key opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the wine industry are:

1. Improving energy efficiency — improving the efficiency of fuel use and electricity to reduce energy consumption overall.
2. Moving away from diesel — replacing diesel and other fossil fuels with alternate fuels, such as biofuel or green hydrogen, and electrifying farm equipment and machinery.
3. Decarbonising electricity — decarbonising New Zealand’s electricity grid or adopting onsite solar energy generation.
4. Innovating the value chain — engaging with suppliers to decarbonise goods and services such as packaging and transport.
5. Using carbon removals — reducing emissions by increasing the potential for land to sequester and store carbon.

The five key principles to reduce emissions are as follows:

1. Measure emissions
2. Reduce energy demand
3. Innovate operations
4. Work with the value chain
5. Be ambitious

In the short term, reducing scope 1 emissions is the most practical approach, as scope 2 and 3 emissions will require innovation from across the value chain, in particular electricity generation, transport and packaging.

New Zealand Winegrowers’ General Manager Sustainability, Dr Edwin Massey, said, “The wine industry has a proud history of embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities. Learning from each other, and from partners up and down our supply chain, will be critical to reducing emissions and meeting our 2050 goal.”

The roadmap is just one component of the New Zealand wine industry’s commitment to sustainability. As wine consumers increasingly demand greater transparency of environmental credentials, this next step by the New Zealand wine industry is designed to make sure it is well poised to continue to hold onto its reputation as a leader in sustainable wine production.

Image credit: iStock.com/kavram