Meagan Littlejohn: Sustainability essential for New Zealand wine exports
Sustainability is no longer a "nice to have", says Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Programme Manager Meagan Littlejohn.
Toitū Envirocare is a climate and environmental certification body. Emily says businesses are increasingly asked for carbon footprint data to meet either export requirements at port of entry, or from customers. “International retailers are seeking data to measure their own value chain and meet their legislated climate-related disclosures and consumer expectations.” Recent reports suggest that retailers’ Scope 3 (supplier) emissions are generally 92 times higher than their operational emissions, which is a higher proportion than any other sector, she says. “Suppliers and service providers are being asked to provide supplier-specific emission factors for wineries to transition to a low carbon supply chain.”
Consumer demand is also a key influence. “While cost of living is now the top concern for consumers, their interest and passion towards sustainability means they want to support brands that are outwardly doing what they can to reduce their impact on the environment,” Emily says. “Even in markets where sustainability stories are not in demand at the moment, such as the United States, there is still a drive from consumers to feel connected to the brands they purchase, and the good that these brands stand for."
Toitū has 30 clients within the wine industry, ranging from large manufacturers to small grape growers or wineries. Emily says the focus on communicating to the end consumer has led to increasing interest in Toitū’s product footprint certification, “which allows businesses to have the certification mark included on the bottle”.
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