A lot of my posts begin with something like: Studying for the MW exam constantly reminds me how little I know. Skimming through past exam questions only confirmed this. I dare you to try the Random Question Generator (RQG in short) and see how you feel about the questions 😆.
The P4 Wine Business question below definitely intimidated me. But one of the reasons I created the RQG was to challenge myself to answer whatever it throws at me—because no matter where I start, I’ll have to face all of it eventually.
I have to admit, the topic that initially scared me ended up being genuinely enjoyable to research. With clear guidelines and a wealth of material available, it helped me organise my thoughts more visually—and even prompted me to begin using mind maps, which I’ve found to be a great way to see the bigger picture in a condensed form.
So here I am, putting myself out there and sharing the practice essay I wrote on the topic. I’d love to hear any feedback you might have. I did run it past a few trusted advisors first—so I’m not completely naked—and the responses so far have been encouraging.
I genuinely don’t know whether this would be at a pass level—most likely not—but the more I write, the more I realise how much I need others’ feedback to progress.
So here it goes:
You are the production director of a one-million-case winery which aspires to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade. What steps would you take to achieve this objective? (2022)
Becoming carbon neutral means that a winery balances the greenhouse gases (GHG) it emits with an equal amount removed or offset, resulting in net-zero carbon emissions. With the increasing threats of climate change, many companies, including those in the wine industry, are striving to reduce their carbon footprint with the final goal of becoming carbon neutral, or even carbon negative. This will not only help the company to fulfill their environmental responsibility but also to follow or even be ahead of governmental regulations and guidelines, answer market demand and gain positive brand differentiation by leading the change as well as achieve financial sustainability by reducing long-term costs if done right. As a large-scale winery producing one million cases per year, an amount comparable to the whole production of Hawke’s Bay in NZ, the impact of even reducing carbon emissions could be significant to both environment and financials. The OIV estimates 1.0-1.2kg CO2e per bottle of wine as a global average which brings carbon emission of this winery to somewhere around 13,000 tonnes CO2e per year.
In general, there are four steps involved to become carbon neutral. First is to determine how much carbon is being emitted by the winery for both product and organisation. For this, the carbon emissions are categorised into three scopes, a method widely used for carbon emission measurement.
Scope one includes all direct carbon emissions made by the winery including fuels used in the vineyards and winery, emissions from nitrogen fertilizers, company owned vehicles, purchased winemaking CO2, synthetic refrigerants and methane from on-site composting and wastewater.
Scope two includes indirect emissions as a result of purchased electricity which is most often for irrigation in the vineyard and for most machinery in the winery.
The largest part of CO2e in a winery falls into scope three consisting of all other indirect GHG emissions of the business from products, services and resources used within the wine value chain.
Once the emissions are measured and calculated, the second step of actually reducing the carbon footprint can happen. According to Wine Australia, Scope 1 accounts for approximately 10%, Scope 2 for around 12%, and the remainder falls under Scope 3—of which 49% is attributed to industrial processes and the supply chain, and 29% to transport.
Scope 1 and 2 can be actively addressed by the winery and many are doing so by introducing solar panels and using renewable energy throughout the winery. Especially in countries with high sunlight exposure such as Spain and Australia, wineries are achieving great results with solar panels. Tahbilk Winery in Heathcote, Australia—a forerunner of the net-zero movement—supplies over a third of its total energy needs through on-site solar power, which also helps reduce energy costs. Further, the winery realized through their analysis of carbon emissions in the vineyard that their drip irrigation system and the pumps were responsible for over 7% of their total GHG emissions. By installing yield and soil management devices, they were able to determine a more precise timing of irrigation and consequently reduce the frequency.
The indirect emissions within Scope 3 can’t be directly controlled by the winery but conscious decisions can be made to reduce total emissions. Especially with glass bottles accounting for the biggest part within the 49 per cent of emissions through industrial processes and supply chain, the change to lightweight bottles can have a significant impact on the total carbon footprint. Further possibilities of carbon sequestration can be identified in the sectors of alternative packaging materials, transportation methods as well as supplier screening and education.
In cases where carbon removal alone is not sufficient to achieve carbon neutrality, offsets can be utilized as the third step in the process. These may include on-site actions—such as installing additional renewable energy sources, implementing reforestation or revegetation initiatives, and adopting regenerative viticulture practices—as well as the purchase of verified carbon credits through certifying organizations like Toitū Environcare, Carbon Trust, or Climate Active. These organizations use the funds from carbon credit purchases to support accredited environmental projects and initiatives, thereby advancing environmental progress and generating additional social and potentially economic value.
Lastly, companies can seek certification through third party organizations as mentioned above and keep the progress by going through regular audits.
It is worth considering seeking guidance and consultancy from third-party organizations and other net-zero associations, such as the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), an international organization with over 50 members worldwide that offers assistance with analysis, diagnostics, and networking. Although membership or consultancy services might come at a cost, they could be a wise investment considering the complexity of the process.
There are also guidelines and initiatives from non-profit trade associations, such as Wine Australia’s Emissions Reduction Roadmap or the guidelines provided by the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB). The IWCA, in particular, could be a good fit, as its members include Concha y Toro—a wine company of similar size that is also working towards carbon neutrality.
It should be noted, however, that the goal of becoming carbon neutral by the end of the decade might be too ambitious if efforts are still in their early stages. As seen in the goals of other associations and companies, Concha y Toro—which began its net-zero journey in 2007—aims to be carbon neutral by 2040, a target they expect to achieve 10 years ahead of schedule. Similarly, Wine Australia’s roadmap aims to reduce emissions by 42% by 2030, and the BIVB is working towards carbon neutrality for Bourgogne by 2035.
While a smaller winery might be able to achieve carbon neutrality more quickly, a realistic goal should be set based on the size of the operation to ensure the success of the undertaking.
This entire process requires both short- and long-term commitment, as well as significant financial investment in analysis, equipment, and certification—particularly during the initial stages of the program. Resilience is also crucial. In many cases, achieving carbon neutrality must be prioritized over short-term financial gain in order to make a lasting impact. However, these efforts will help the winery become more resilient in the face of the often unknown and unpredictable challenges posed by climate change and will bring long-term financial benefits through energy conservation.
Furthermore, carbon neutrality will enhance the company’s financial viability and sustainability by strengthening its brand in a market where differentiation and positive environmental impact are increasingly important to consumers.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of a company of this scale to ensure the sustainability of the industry and to protect the environment for everyone involved.
The base of my essay is a Mind Map that I draft during my researches. A Canva-helped design version can be found here:
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