Yealands Wine Group has announced its commitment to lowering its carbon emissions by 80% by 2045, and 50% by 2030. Yealands has already reduced its emissions intensity by almost 20 per cent in the past five years.
This objective comes as it joins International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), a collective working group committed to tackling the severity of the climate crisis by creating climate leadership in the wine industry.
IWCA has been created as a platform to share best practices in lower-impact winemaking in a bid to urge immediate global action regarding climate change.
“Producing world-class wines doesn’t have to be at the expense of the environment,” says Tiffani Graydon, CEO of Yealands Wine Group. “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 industry can play a role in New Zealand’s ambition to move to a low emissions economy by 2050.
“Our membership is a great opportunity for us to benchmark ourselves against global leaders in the wine industry and this is very powerful,” Graydon says.
Yealands is the first Toitū carbonzeroCertTM certified winery since inception, and the only winery in New Zealand to currently hold this certification. “We have always been focused on reducing our emissions and have made some real progress, reducing almost 20 per cent in the last five years. However, we want to go further. We all must make real reductions in our businesses if we are to live in a climate friendly future,” says Graydon.
Since its establishment in 2008, Yealands has been a leading name in the sustainable winemaking industry and continues to strive to be a leader in sustainable wine production. As part of its existing sustainability commitments, the winery uses approximately 25 per cent of multiple renewable energy sources to minimise its environmental footprint.
Solar panelling produces more than 400,000 kW hours 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 Estate is also home to two wind turbines that generate additional power for the winery.
Yealands Wine Group joins IWCA alongside other leading winemakers from Chile, Portugal, Spain, and the USA. Other IWCA members include the founding wineries Jackson Family Wines (USA) and Familia Torres (Spain), as well as new members Spottswoode Estate (USA), Symington Family Estates (Portugal), and VSPT Wine Group (Chile).
