Viña Caliterra has been certified Carbon Neutral
January 3, 2017
By having recently achieved its carboNZero certification, Viña Caliterra has added a new achievement to its outstanding trajectory and its environmental commitment. However, this achievement becomes even more relevant as it is the first Chilean winery to obtain this certification thanks to its own native forest, located within Caliterra’s property.
The forest is a native woodland of about 1,313 hectares owned by the vineyard, which contributes significantly to the biodiversity of its surroundings. A study on biodiversity determined that, in order to obtain this certification, Viña Caliterra didn’t need to acquire carbon credits in the market, but only to demonstrate the amount of carbon that the forest area is currently setting and how it counteracts the winery’s emissions.
Caliterra is located in the heart of the Colchagua Valley, and by certifying the carbon footprint for its complete organization and distribution, it reinforces its commitment to sustainability. In other words, this certification covers all the processes and activities that take place in the vineyards and in the winery as well as during the distribution to di fferent sale points in Chile and other markets abroad.
Along with being certified, Viña Caliterra committed itself to undertake di fferent actions in order to reduce its emissions in various areas, amongst others, reducing electricity consumption by using photovoltaic solar energy, lessening the use of refrigerants, managing a reduction in Diesel consumption and strengthening its commitment to recycling and thus reducing the waste sent to the landfill.
The process of measuring the carbon footprint was entrusted to Agro Sustaintable, a Chilean consulting firm, and it included all the processes carried out during 2015. On the other hand, the certification was delivered by CEMARS, a company based in New Zealand.
"The carboNZero seal reinforces our strong alliance with nature, which has induced us to be pioneers in developing sustainable viticultural practices in Chile by means of a protocol of practices aimed at protecting and conserving the environment of our vineyards," explained Rodrigo Zamorano, Chief Winemaker at Viña Caliterra. "In this way, by measuring and mitigating our carbon footprint, we are assuming a new commitment with Caliterra’s ecosystem, with the Colchagua Valley and, ultimately, with our country," he said.