Tahbilk Winery achieved its ambitious goal last year of becoming "naturally" carbon balanced.
In short, the estate – the oldest family-owned winery and vineyard in Victoria – now sequesters more carbon than its winemaking operation uses.
Tahbilk started its carbon neutral journey in 2008 and received its first neutral certification from Toitū Envirocare in 2013. Since then, it has completed nine audits with Toitū to successfully reduce its carbon footprint by 50 per cent.
The Carbon Zero accreditation accurately measures Tahbilk’s greenhouse gas emissions on an annual basis and assists the winery and vineyard to put in place strategies to manage and reduce its environmental impact. It is one of the first Australian wineries to be certified carbon neutral for both its business operations and its products.
“We annually count our product and organisation emissions and then off-set these emissions through our own revegetation carbon sequestration credits,” explained Lachie Thomas, Tahbilk’s Environment and Vineyard Research Analyst, who has been instrumental in spearheading Tahbilk’s efforts towards carbon neutrality. “Any remaining emissions are offset with the purchase of verified carbon credits to achieve a net zero balance."
Tahbilk’s achievement is remarkable, but it didn’t happen overnight. Instead, the company has worked hard over a decade to achieve its net carbon zero status using a range of initiatives that include the following.
The introduction of solar energy
Tahbilk’s solar program began in 2018, when the company installed a 100kWp solar unit to its packaging warehouse roof – generating enough energy to cover 12 per cent of the winery’s annual power usage.
In early 2021 an additional 100kWp solar system was installed and in early 2022 a third 100kWp solar system was installed. As a result, Tahbilk is now able to generate over one third of its annual energy requirements from the sun.
“This is really important, because energy is the biggest contributor to Tahbilk’s emissions, totalling the equivalent of 1,141 tCO2e per annum prior to the solar installations,” said Lachie Thomas.
Yield and soil monitoring devices
The introduction of yield and soil monitoring devices has allowed Tahbilk to manage its irrigation and run its pumps with maximum efficiency. Previously, the vineyard’s drip irrigation system was run based on management’s collective knowledge and ‘gut’ feel. “We now provide our vines the right amount of water at the right time,” Lachie said.
He said while environmental factors ultimately determined energy savings, Tahbilk was confident it was running irrigation as efficiently as possible. “Electricity used in the vineyard accounts for 7.35 per cent of our total emissions profile, approximately 328 tCO2e annually. With all our pumps being electric, it made sense to implement technology like this alongside our knowledge to help us only apply water as needed.”
Compost and mulch
Tahbilk has closed its waste loop by introducing a "simple and cheap" process that converts waste products into high value products.
All the winery’s waste, including grape marc, bunch stalks and winery filter waste is collected during harvest and composted over winter. Manure and straw are added from local industry and the rich compost is then spread back over the vineyards, with straw mulch added. “By being able to add nutrition and life back into the soil, as well as hold more water in the ground, we’ve reduced our need for fertilisers and irrigation.”
Revegetation program
Tahbilk has revegetated 150 hectares of land since it began its first revegetation projects in 1995. The revegetation efforts use a wide variety of seed including dozens of different Acacia and Eucalypt species indigenous to the area. Tahbilk aims to revegetate a further 100 hectares of land by 2030.
“We’re proud of what we have achieved,” said Lachie. “We believe our role at Tahbilk is not only to grow grapes, but to create the environment where grapes can grow.”
Last month, Wine Australia released its Emissions Reduction Roadmap for the Australian grape and wine sector. The map outlines effective and practical steps to reduce the sector’s carbon emissions by more than 40 per cent before 2030.
Developed by Wine Australia with global sustainability advisory Edge Impact in consultation with more than 200 members of the grape and wine community, the Emissions Reduction Roadmap provides an industry-endorsed and science-backed pathway to reducing carbon emissions across the Australian grape and wine sector.