Yealands Wine Group (YWG) are celebrating two Gold Trophies wins from The Green World Awards 2022, held in Dubai on Friday 18 March. Their wins were in the categories of "Regeneration" for the work the team have undertaken with their Station Creek Regeneration programme, and “Carbon Reduction” for their Carbon Emission Reduction Programme.
Michael Wentworth, Yealands GM of Sustainability said of the double gold win, “ Yealands are thrilled to be recognised on the global stage amongst world leaders in sustainability. Our team has made massive progress in the past couple of years here in New Zealand, and these awards are a fitting reward for the hard work we have all invested.”
The Gold Trophies recognise the journey Yealands has taken, its’ innovative approaches and the evolution of their sustainability and carbon reduction strategy. Whilst much progress has been made, culminating in a –34% reduction in emission intensity since 2012, Yealands recognise a continued commitment is required to achieve their goal of a carbon positive future.
Established in 2008, Yealands has been certified Toitu carbonzero from day one. The first winery in the world to have done so, which has meant that they have ensured carbon emissions were identified, mitigated and offset from the beginning. The carbonzero certification was promptly followed by ISO 14001 and GC Mark - Green Company, the first wine producer in the world.
Yealands certifications were backed up by innovative practices in the vineyard and winery; introducing miniature Babydoll sheep to graze in the vineyard year-round to replace mowers, the installation of New Zealand’s largest solar array (at the time), wind turbines and the burning of vine prunings in place of LPG, providing heat to the winery. The certifications and associated activity were hugely successful with Yealands reducing emission intensity by -34% since 2012. “Recognising the very real threat to our industry’s livelihood, and as part of a more scientific approach to minimising our impact on the environment, our strategy has evolved in recent times in two key areas,” detailed Wentworth. “Changing from “reducing our emissions” approach to one of “elimination”. This has resulted in the extension of our planning horizons, ensuring medium and long-term targets and ensuring the necessary resources are in place.
“Secondly, we have increased the scope of what we can influence; moving beyond our vineyard boundary and into the global community.” Wentworth refers here to YWG joining the International Wineries for Climate Action in 2020, (the first agricultural initiative registered by the UN’s Race to Zero programme), to share, learn and benchmark Yealands against the world’s best. As part of the IWCA initiative Yealands reset their emissions target to be “Carbon Positive” by 2050, with a 50% reduction to be achieved by 2030.
“I believe that Yealands Wine Group (YWG) is a model of innovation in sustainable wine production. By “thinking boldly and treading lightly” we established a culture of experimentation long before it was “cool to be green”. The sheer volume of innovative initiatives introduced across all aspects of the business, has been substantial and continues today. Each initiative may not be seen as innovative in isolation, but the collective impact and culture derived from this is difficult to replicate. The award wins at the Green World Awards are brilliant recognition of our hard work on the global stage.” summarised Wentworth.
For more about the awards and a full list of winners visit the Green World Awards website below.
