Carbon-neutral organic wine with certified carbon footprint

BY 2050 , INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES must slash their greenhouse gas emissions by 80%
of their 1990 levels. This will require radical new mindsets on the part of manufacturers and consumers. Climate-friendly products and labelling systems are adopting new importance. However, they must be based on reliable data documenting greenhouse gas emissions for specific products – throughout their entire life cycle. A case study of a Chilean winegrower provides insight.

The carbon footprint of a product or service records and evaluates all actual and anticipated climate-relevant emissions, with the goal of achieving transparency, identifying emission drivers and providing impetus for innovations to reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials. Carbon accounting can be drawn up as a corporate carbon footprint (CCF) for an entire company, documenting the total
emissions along the value and supply chain, or as a product carbon footprint (PCF) for emissions throughout the life cycle of a product or service. Companies can use the carbon footprint as a basis for developing their own climate strategy and improving the sustainability of their products. For consumers, a label showing carbon footprint information enables them to target climatefriendly options in their purchasing.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard are the proven methods used for consistent documentation of the CCF. The inspection criteria also examine whether all direct and indirect emissions have been determined in full using conservative methods that conform to standards. The corporate objective of climate protection is examined with as much attention as the company's implementation of energy efficiency measures. In addition, a catalogue of requirements addresses corporate policies, reduction measures and communication. Whilst recognised standards are already in place for corporate carbon footprints in the shape of ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol, this is not yet the case where product carbon footprints are concerned. Although there are still uncertainties, new regulations will provide more reliability in the future.

Case study: Vi?edos Emiliana
Preparation of a carbon footprint is currently voluntary. Given that no binding standard yet exists, transparency in documenting the methods and data used is paramount. Impartial verification and certification of the carbon footprint is an effective way of underlining the robustness and credibility of the results. The involvement of an impartial institution delivers confirmation that the carbon footprint of a product and/or company was drawn up correctly in accordance with the standard.

TüV SüD Industrie Service was commissioned by the Chilean organic vineyard Vi?edos Emiliana to certify the product carbon footprints of five of its organic wine ranges and the corporate carbon footprint for the vineyard as a whole – spanning the administration centre, production processes and vehicle fleet.

Vi?edos Emiliana is amongst Chile's leading producers of fine organic wines; at this year's BioFach organic trade show in Nuremberg, the vineyard won gold medals in the organic wine awards MUNDUSvini BioFach for its "Coyam 2008", "Novas Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot 2007" and "Novas Carmenere/ Cabernet Sauvignon 2009". MUNDUSvini is amongst the world's most prestigious wine competitions. Further wines from Vi?edos Emiliana received silver medals in the awards.

TüV SüD verified that emission levels had been completely and correctly determined using appropriate approved methods. The experts began by verifying whether processes had been fully documented and the carbon footprints had been calculated in conformity with requirements – including correct application of and compliance with the provisions of PAS 2050:2008. The next step involved evaluation of carbon neutrality: a company or product is deemed carbon-neutral when all carbon emiAir Jordan 4 IV Retro 30TH