Climate change is already happening. The evidence is clear to see, and our suppliers are already feeling the effects. Vintages and weather patterns are becoming unpredictable, with unexpected frosts, heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods affecting vineyards across the globe.
That’s why we are taking action and have an ambitious plan to take us to net zero, across our business and supply chain by 2040.
We can’t tackle climate change alone. But what we can do is minimise our carbon footprint and support wine growers to become more resilient to the impact of climate change, helping to protect harvests and maintain the quality of their wine.
And that’s what we’re doing. We have worked with environmental consultant 3Keel to measure carbon emissions right across our supply chain – covering approximately 1,000 wineries, shipping to the UK, our operations in Stevenage and onward delivery to members’ homes.
We will also set science-based reduction targets and a road map on how to reach net zero by 2040 – not just in our own operations, but throughout our whole value chain. We aim to publish this road map by summer 2023.
The wine production process can create up to 1.5 kg of waste per litre of wine, the majority of which is waste water containing polluting residues
We know that 2040 may seem a long way off, so we have set ourselves interim goals. In 2024, we will be carbon neutral – this involves finding ways to balance our emissions, ideally in our own supply chain through ‘insetting’. This can include investing in vineyards to sequester carbon through enhanced biodiversity, better soil health and more sustainable farming practices.
Through our supplier forum and responsible sourcing approach, we will also find ways to invest in helping suppliers to reduce their contribution to climate change and adapt to its worst effects – so they can continue to thrive and make great wine.
By 2028 we aim to have reduced our direct-operation emissions to zero. While dependant on the right technology being available, we will aim to switch our 35 vans to zero emissions and move to electric boilers and air conditioning units, vital to keep members’ wine at a constant temperature.
We are also planning to increase our onsite renewable energy production to be as self-sufficient as possible. We already have solar panels on three of our warehouses, for example. With energy prices rising sharply, we feel this makes good business sense as well as benefitting the environment.
For more information, view our sustainability section