How the wine industry can build a more sustainable future

Climate change has been getting a lot of attention recently, and for good reason. The latest science shows the risk is manifesting faster and it’s not just fires and floods causing problems. A changing climate will gradually and increasingly impact us all. Science also tells us now is the time to take action for future generations and to ensure business resilience.

This is why Treasury Wine Estates has set an ambitious target of net zero emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030. With 70% of these emissions generated from electricity, we have our sights on achieving 100% renewable electricity across our entire operations by 2024. 

Targets are important for transparency and accountability. But how you achieve those goals is just as valuable.

As an industry with a significant agricultural footprint, there are three key areas wine producers can act on together to support the transition to a low-carbon future.

Innovation

Winemaking is steeped in tradition but to have a meaningful presence in the future, we need to be looking ahead and adapting to the changing environment. There are so many ways we can harness the power of information and technology to learn from the past and inform the future, improving decision making and ultimately the sustainable production of wine.

We’ve made some headway in this space through partnering with agtech experts, which has enabled us to use artificial intelligence (AI) at our vineyards so we can better predict weather patterns. From next year we’ll be trialling robotics and automation tools so we can make more informed decisions about optimal irrigation and harvest times. These are all critical drivers of wine quality, but also contribute to our environmental footprint through optimising water and energy consumption.

Partnerships and collaboration

Tackling the effects of climate change and safeguarding the future of wine requires both collective action and collective responsibility – a coming together of organisations across the ecosystem from partners to lenders and investors through to distributors. Partnering means you can move quicker, scale change, and drive tangible commercial and environmental outcomes. You’re much more likely to meet your targets if you have your critical partners supporting you.

Sustainable wine packaging is one example where the ecosystem needs to work together. It requires embracing shifts in technology and changing consumer preferences by generating awareness and trust in alternative formats. This can’t be done alone. Effective collaboration and planning across industry and alongside our customers and suppliers will enable us to drive change and better outcomes for our consumers and the planet. For example, in partnership with one of our key suppliers, we’ve now recycled more than 600 tonnes of glass through a closed-loop process that not only reduces waste, but also contributes to an increased recycled content in our glass bottles and reduced energy consumption.

Take consumer expectations around sustainability as another example. We know consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable wines and they should be able to experience wine that is sustainably grown, made, and packaged. This interest helped to create a unique coalition of global players in the wine industry – The Sustainable Wine Roundtable – to drive consumer awareness about sustainable wine products. These sorts of coalitions are essential when changing course requires an ecosystem view.

Leadership

Industry leadership is vital, particularly if you are a major global winemaker. We all have a responsibility to lead the way in how we transition to a more sustainable business – not just for future generations but also to help bring smaller winemakers on board. 

In Australia, we work closely with our grower network to encourage their participation in achieving a ‘sustainable winegrowing’ certification. This includes providing information sessions as well as incentives for joining the program. Ultimately this benefits the whole wine community as we raise awareness about how we’re adopting more sustainable practices.

Building a resilient business means working together to create meaningful change across the entire wine industry. From the way we source our fruit varietals and produce our wine through to how it is packaged, transported and sold, it is vital that we all drive change and make an impact so that we can cultivate a brighter future together.