By James Bayley
Published: 08 July, 2022
Australian wine will soon have a clear roadmap to achieve net-zero carbon emissions after a new investment was announced by Wine Australia.
Edge Environment has been selected by Wine Australia to work with the sector to develop an Emissions Reduction Roadmap that will set achievable carbon emissions reduction targets, guide the sector collectively towards those targets and provide practical information and cost-effective tools to support grape and wine producers.
Wine Australia’s general manager of research, development and adoption Dr Liz Waters said the roadmap will support the sector’s targets as well as wider agricultural and global commitments in both emissions reduction and overall sustainability.
“The threat of climate change to the global wine sector was recognised some time ago and the response requires multiple solutions in both adapting to the impacts of climate change and taking action to reduce the emissions that cause climate change,” Dr Waters said.
“Wine, like other agricultural industries, is seeing increasing social, regulatory and market pressures to respond to climate change. The Australian grape and wine community collectively set a goal to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the roadmap is essential in helping achieve this while also supporting the commercial needs of grape and wine businesses. With the right advice and support, we believe that the wine sector can have net-zero carbon emissions well before 2050.”
Edge Environment Managing Director ANZ Olivia Tyler said, “We’re delighted to be supporting Wine Australia and Australian Grape & Wine on this key project. The criticality for developing and adopting a net-zero emissions roadmap for the sector has never been clearer. Our team brings deep experience in both wine and agriculture, having worked with a number of wine producers locally and internationally, and we’re looking forward to continuing to provide that practical support and insight.”
The Emissions Reduction Roadmap will be developed in consultation with the Australian grape and wine sector over the next six months. Opportunities to participate will be communicated through Wine Australia.
The Roadmap will form part of Wine Australia’s sector-wide strategy on sustainability, being led by Rachel Triggs, Wine Australia General Manager, ESG and Market Access. The multifaceted strategy will include experts from across the sector to expand on existing efforts to incorporate the triple bottom line – ethical, economic and environmental sustainability.
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