Frequently Asked Questions
Who makes up the Carbon Neutral Challenge?
The initiative is organized and directed by a steering committee representing the Oregon Environmental Council, the Oregon Wine Board, Ecos Consulting and four representatives from participating wineries (Cooper Mountain Vineyards, Lemelson Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery and Soter Vineyards)
Which Oregon wineries are participating in this initiative and how significant is this participation?
There are 14 wineries completing the program this spring, representing approximately 20 percent of the wine production in Oregon. The participating wineries include: Abacela Winery, Adelsheim Vineyard, A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL, Chehalem Winery, Cooper Mountain Vineyards, King Estate Winery, Left Coast Cellars, Lemelson Vineyards , Mahonia Vineyards and Nursery, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soter Vineyards, Stoller Vineyards, Willamette Valley Vineyards and Winderlea Wine Company.
Are there other wineries in the United States that are also carbon neutral?
The Carbon Neutral Challenge is the first and largest bloc of wineries in the United States working to manage and reduce carbon emissions. It also significantly increases the number of wineries that have completed a program to measure, reduce and offset their GHGs. Currently in the U.S., only two wineries — Parducci and Rodney Strong — have claimed that their winery operations are carbon neutral. This program includes 14 wineries completing a carbon neutrality program.
Why are wineries participating in the CNC?
Participating wineries understand that global climate change is a real threat to the Oregon wine industry. A study co-authored by Greg Jones, PhD., a leading climatologist in the field of viticulture, estimates that potential premium wine grape production area in the conterminous United States could decline by up to 81% by the late 21st century. While wineries recognize that their efforts alone cannot affect the outcome of climate change, they want to be leaders in addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Oregon’s wineries are participating as a group as a way to share best practices and lessons among wineries. For more information about climate change and wine, see here.
What does it mean to have completed the Carbon Neutral Challenge?
Wineries and vineyards completing this program measured the total greenhouse gas emissions they produce, reduced them directly in their operations through energy efficiency measures, investing in on-site renewable energy generation, changing practices, etc. The balance of the remaining emissions is then ‘offset’ by investing in a verifiable project off-site that directly captures or eliminates GHGs at the equivalent level.
How do you measure carbon emissions?
For accounting purposes, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are broken into three categories. The separation of these three scope categories is key to manage emissions reporting and the calculation of carbon footprint. Each Scope is described below and represented in Figure 1.
- Scope 1 emissions are those over which a company has direct control via ownership of activities;
- Scope 2 is purchased electricity, heat or steam; and
- Scope 3 includes the emissions from all activities that are purchased from other companies.
What was included in the measurement of CNC wineries’ emissions?
Scope 1 and Scope 2 are included in almost all mandatory and voluntary reporting schemes, and are required by the California Climate Action Registry, The Climate Registry, and EPA Climate Leaders. The separation of Scopes ensures that no double accounting occurs at the regional level when greenhouse gas emissions are aggregated. Scope 1 and Scope 2 are typically the emissions categories companies use when calculating a carbon footprint and developing plans to minimize their carbon impact.
Scope 3 emissions are part of the product lifecycle and are therefore critical for calculating and managing full lifecycle impact and value-chain emissions. While emerging national standards simply require accounting for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the Oregon wineries participating in the CNC recognize the importance of capturing the emissions related information that occurs in transport and packaging, which have an impact on their carbon footprint.
In 2009, the CNC participating wineries were encouraged to include Scope 3 emissions in their 2009 inventories. Starting in 2010, the CNC will require emissions for employee business travel and direct shipping emissions for 2010 inventories. Over time, and with additional scientific analysis, the CNC will require more Scope 3 related emissions reporting.
Who measured the carbon emissions from the wineries?
Wineries complete a GHG inventory tool specially designed for the wine industry by Ecos Consulting and based on an international protocol developed for the wine industry by Provisor. The GHG inventory tool is consistent with The Climate Registry’s standards, the national organization that serves as an inventory for GHG emissions and all of the participants are a member of The Climate Registry and register their emissions data. Ecos assists the participants throughout the process to ensure they are accurately reporting their emissions. Ecos also completes a final report of each winery’s GHG inventory.
Who verifies the emissions?
After conducting an extensive national request for proposals to review and select qualified and cost effective third-party verifiers, the CNC selected Advanced Waste Management Systems. This company has the longest history of experience with GHG inventory verification in the United States.
Why is third-party verification of emissions not required for wineries?
The CNC encourages participating wineries to obtain third-party verification, but does not require them to do so. Given the high cost of verification, only six of the fourteen wineries were in a position to have their data verified by a third party. The CNC is working to find less expensive verification options for 2010.
The six wineries that completed third-party verification included: Cooper Mountain Vineyards, Left Coast Cellars, Lemelson Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soter Vineyards, and Willamette Valley Vineyards.
Does the CNC certify carbon neutrality?
No, the CNC is a voluntary effort by participating members of the Oregon wine industry to reduce their climate change impact. The CNC emphasizes continual improvement and reduction of carbon emissions, and then joint investment in a regional, verifiable carbon offset in the agriculture sector to take responsibility for the remaining emissions and reduce the equivalent amount of emissions remaining. At this time, there are no third-party organizations in the United States that certify carbon neutrality.
Are wineries/vineyards a major source of greenhouse gas emissions?
Wineries and vineyards are not major emitters of greenhouse gas emissions, but are directly impacted by climate change. Because grapes are more sensitive than most agricultural crops, wineries and vineyards are some of the first agricultural producers to feel the effects of climate change. The wine industry in Oregon is the ‘canary in the coal mine.’ By participating in this initiative, these wine industry leaders are demonstrating the important role businesses play in reducing carbon emissions and providing leadership within the industry.
Why are CNC wineries required to become members of The Climate Registry?
THE CLIMATE REGISTRY (tcr) is a nonprofit collaboration among North American states, provinces, and territories that sets consistent and transparent standards to calculate, verify and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions into a single registry. TCR has emerged as the national registry for GHG emissions. With an accurate account of their GHG emissions inventories, Registry Members are able to examine their energy expenses and identify where they can implement efficient practices to achieve overall cost savings. The TCR membership demonstrates wineries’ dedication to the process of GHG measurement and emissions reduction as well as transparency of emissions information.
Do you include distribution and transportation of goods in your carbon footprint?
Emissions resulting from direct point of sale will be required in the 2010 inventories, and was encouraged for 2009 inventories.
How can I be sure that Carbon Neutral Commitment wineries are not greenwashing?
Participating wineries have completed a rigorous process that is aligned with national greenhouse gas reporting standards. Participating wineries have made a commitment to invest in operational changes that will reduce their carbon footprint. The fourteen Oregon wineries are the one of the largest groups from a single industry, and the first group of U.S. wineries to join The Climate Registry. Finally, recognizing that one can only reduce their carbon footprint so much but yet wanting to still take full responsibility for those emissions, the CNC is investing in regionally-based, high quality, and third-party verifiable carbon offsets.
Anyone can buy carbon offsets. What are CNC wineries doing to reduce their carbon footprint?
Since the inception of the initiative in 2007, the emphasis of the CNC has been to mitigate and reduce carbon emissions. Ecos Consulting has developed Greenhouse Gas Management Guidelines specifically tailored to the wine industry that assists wineries in choosing feasible and cost effective changes to make in their operations. Many of the wineries have undergone an extensive energy audit by the Energy Trust of Oregon that has helped them identify areas that need improvement.
Every participating winery has made and continues to make significant carbon reduction investments. These include large investments such as solar panels and other renewable energy, lighting retrofits, tank insulation, cellar partitioning, biodiesel in vineyard tractors, reducing the number of wine shipments to cellar club members and smaller changes such as recycling initiatives and ways to support sustainable products from local businesses. The CNC is a collaborative initiative that encourages dialogue and best practice sharing between participating wineries about their sustainability ideas and practices.
How do I know that the carbon offsets CNC wineries are investing in are high quality?
The CNC conducted an extensive audit to find regional, high quality, and verifiable carbon offsets. With the help of the Bonneville Environment Foundation (BEF), CNC wineries are investing in a methane digesters in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Carbon offsets from these projects are registered with the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) offset program. The CAR offset program focuses on ensuring environmental integrity of GHG emissions reduction projects to create and support financial and environmental value in the U.S. carbon market. It does this by establishing high-quality standards for quantifying and verifying GHG emissions reduction projects, overseeing independent third party verification bodies, issuing carbon credits generated from such projects and tracking the credits over time on a transparent, publicly-accessible system.
What are the climate benefits from the carbon offsets?
Investing in a carbon offset means that the wineries are taking full responsibility for the emissions from their business that they have not reduced. This carbon offset investment is also in the agriculture sector and focuses on eliminating methane, a greenhouse gas that is twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide and accounts for a third of the warming of the climate. Over one year, these offset projects prevent 211 metric tons of methane from being released into the atmosphere. This is the CO2 equivalent of 9,370 barrels of oil consumed, the annual emissions of 770 cars and the electricity used by 489 homes in one year.
Why has the program taken so long to complete?
The initial time horizon was 18 months. However, given the complexity of measuring, monitoring, and mitigating GHG emissions, it became clear that the only way to achieve the goal of declaring carbon neutrality within 18 months would be to purchase offsets entirely. The CNC steering committee decided it was more important to reduce carbon emissions to the extent possible, rather than to meet the original deadline strictly through the purchase of carbon offsets only.
CNC wineries may be reducing carbon, but do their wines taste good?
Wineries participating in the CNC are some of the most renowned in Oregon.