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The state organisation Wine Australia aims to reduce the industry's CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2030. To achieve this, the association developed a roadmap with eleven initiatives together with 200 of its members and the sustainability consultancy Edge Impact. Currently, the Australian wine and viticulture sector emits as much carbon dioxide annually as a large passenger aircraft flying 609 times around the world. These emissions can be divided into four areas: Packaging accounts for 49 per cent, transport for 29 per cent. Twelve percent of the emissions occur in the winery, ten percent in the vineyard.
The roadmap suggests using lighter bottles and producing the glass with renewable energy. Shipping wines in larger containers and bottling them closer to consumers could also bring many savings. For transport, non-fossil fuels for trucks and ships should be introduced as soon as possible. Similarly, tractors and all generators running on diesel or petrol, for example for irrigation systems, should be converted to electric drives. Efficiency analyses help to avoid unnecessary driving and irrigation. The wineries should switch to solar energy, the energy from which they can also use for vinification.
Dr Sharon Harvey, Wine Australia's Research and Innovation Program Manager, says: "Supported by scientific evidence, our roadmap identifies the current environmental footprint of the Australian wine sector and provides practical steps for members of the value chain to reduce emissions from today. We all need to consider the emissions costs of our products to reduce our impact on the climate and ensure access to key markets in the future."
(al / source: Harpers.co.uk)