Determined to reduce the emissions of Gemtree Wines, the South Australian Business Chamber Accelerating Net Zero Emissions for Business (ANZEB) program was a no-brainer for Chief Winemaker and Managing Director Mike Brown. But he knew he could not go it alone.
“The number one piece of advice I have for any business looking at taking their business to net-zero emissions is to have organisational support. As a winery, we needed champions on the ag side, in the winery and within our brand team.
“We were ready to get assistance, and we probably had four or five ways we could have gone next. The ANZEB program came along at the right time, and we were pleased when we were chosen to be in the program because of the calibre of those involved.
“I’m sure we’re all really familiar with online learning by now, so I found the program worked well. Nick and Melissa very strategically set the content up. I liked how each weekly module dropped, and then it was at our pace to work through it. We could always go to the South Australian Business Chamber, 2XE or Eighty20 Communications if there were any questions.
“Sharing the modules across the team was helpful for all of us. We could then have team discussions about what we had learned. I cannot highlight enough how important it is that this is a team effort.
“It was the final few modules that challenged me. They really got me thinking. These modules covered stakeholder engagement, developing a net-zero strategy and then communicating this to the market.
“You’ve got to draw on each other’s strengths within a team, so it made sense that the CFO pulled the numbers together as that is his field of expertise. This is a team effort, and we now have our baseline data for our emissions. The relevancy test and the templates provided helped.
“The coaching was excellent, having that one-on-one talk through our specific challenges and opportunities.
“Our biggest challenge in the wine industry is packaging – producing those glass bottles takes a huge amount of energy. We can tackle this industry-wide issue as more and more of us dive into this challenge. It is not insurmountable, though.”
Mike and Melissa of Gemtree Wines are proud of their history and sustainable philosophy in the vineyard. Their grapes are grown organically for a better quality of fruit flavour, with full organic certification back in 2011. They use the technique of biodynamics to connect the health of the soil, vines and resident fauna and flora. Biodynamic wine is made with farming practices that view the farm or vineyard as one solid organism.
For more information, visit gemtreewines.com
