Now.’ With so many other businesses around the world setting goals to become carbon or climate neutral by 2030 or even 2050, how was Bonterra able to become the first organic winery in the world to become climate neutral certified in October 2021? After spending a day walking through their organic vineyards and interviewing winery employees, some answers have emerged.
The simple answer is that Bonterra has been working for years on implementing environmentally friendly practices, because it is part of their culture of farming organic grapes since they were established in 1993.
Located in the hills of Mendocino County, sheep and cattle are often seen roaming through Bonterra vineyards to provide natural fertilizer, soil tilling, and weed control.
Through implementing these efforts over the years they had already adopted solar power, water conservation, composting, and energy saving devices in the winery.
“The main impetus came in 2020,” explains Baum, “when we realized there was a climate emergency in the world.
For Bonterra the first step of measuring their carbon footprint took 3 months of gathering and analyzing data, and was eye-opening for them.
A 2018 study by UC-Davis researchers showed that the soil organic carbon storage by acre is 41,000 lbs in conventionally farmed vineyards, but 45,000 lbs in organic vineyards and 46,300 lbs in biodynamically farmed vineyards.
After calculating their carbon footprint, Bonterra discovered their greenhouse gas emissions for Scope 1 was 584 tCO2e, Scope 2 was 22 tCO2e and Scope 3 was 9,217 tCO2e, with a total emissions level of 9,823 tCO2e.
Investing in electric vehicles for the vineyard and other applicable company vehicles, along with researching ways to reduce the weight of their glass bottles and using more alternative packaging.
“The Regenerative Organic Certification focuses on soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness,” explains Baum.
Apparently customers are resonating with Bonterra’s focus on organic farming and the new Climate Neutral certification.
NOTE: I spent a day driving to Bonterra, touring the vineyards, tasting the wines, and interviewing all of the people quoted in this article.