Your decarbonisation journey starts here
Welcome to the Wine Decarbonisation Pathway. Supported by NZ Winegrowers, the pathway provides tailored tools and resources to help winemakers and growers lower your emissions.
The climate impact of the wine sector
From grape to glass, New Zealand’s wine sector is world class.
And it is growing – in 2022, more than 2000 vineyards harvested about 532,000 tonnes of grapes. Wine exports are worth more than $2 billion per year.
Along with making top-notch wine, the sector is focused on reducing its carbon footprint.
In vineyards, the majority of emissions come from diesel, which is used in machinery like tractors, irrigation and frost fans. For wineries, the largest emissions come from using diesel and LPG to run boilers.
In total, vineyards produce about 47.4kT CO2e each year, while wineries produce 11.46 kTC02e per year.
This pathway focuses on reducing carbon emissions coming from fossil fuels, which ultimately means reducing the use of diesel and LPG across the winemaking process.
But remember, reducing emissions makes not only good environmental sense, but good business sense too.
The business good of decarbonisation
Switching away from fossil fuels can have many benefits for business, beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Cost savings – reduce operating costs through energy efficiency and fuel switching.
- Social license – improve your reputation with socially responsible consumers and investors.
- Brand value – tap into new markets, spark innovation and create business opportunities.
- Employee engagement – attract and retain talent.
- Compliance – stay ahead of regulation for climate change mitigation.
While we may be here for a short time, our impact can last longer than a lifetime. To our industry, sustainability means growing grapes and producing our world-famous wines in such a way that we can do so for generations to come.
The sooner the switch, the greater the reward
The earlier businesses make changes, the faster potential cost-savings can be unlocked. By switching to low-emissions solutions soon, you can protect your business from potential fossil fuel supply and cost uncertainty. In addition, by acting quickly, your businesses may be able to get ahead of the pack for popular technologies – particularly if there is competition for limited resources.
Get started
Ready to begin? Explore our resources for winemakers and growers and start your decarbonisation journey now.