Journey to Carbon Neutral

As shepherds of the land, we take on the responsibility of protecting the Earth. Our ultimate goal is to leave no trace, but our journey to carbon neutrality continues each day. All operations – from the vineyards and winery to supply chain and transportation – must be responsibly conducted so that we protect the Earth and its atmosphere for future generations.

What is Carbon Neutral?

To be carbon neutral means reducing the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere to zero. Carbon dioxide is created in transportation, agriculture, and other production operations. Efforts to achieve carbon neutrality include decarbonizing these activities or offsetting the carbon dioxide emitted from these activities.

You may have also heard the term “net-zero” in relation to carbon neutrality. Net zero takes carbon-neutral one step further by including additional activities under the scope of indirect emissions. The Race to Zero campaign is a United Nations-backed, global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.

How will RIDGE achieve Carbon Neutrality?

International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) is a collaborative working group of wineries committed to reducing carbon emissions across the wine industry. IWCA was the first Race to Zero member representing the wine sector. Ridge Vineyards joined IWCA in 2021, demonstrating positive intent by taking steps to calculate and verify our emissions.

RIDGE is committed to becoming an IWCA Gold member, which requires applicants to:

• achieve Net Zero by 2050
• be at least 20% powered by on-site renewable energy
• reduce 25% of CO2 emissions per unit of wine produced
• complete a biannual greenhouse gas audit utilizing the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol methodology and be verified by an internationally accredited, third-party auditor.

“Ridge’s efforts in sustainability over the past 60 years have brought us to this point, our commitment with the IWCA takes us to the next step. We are so thankful to join a like-minded group of wineries across the globe who are working to make a better future for our children.”
— Michael Torino, SVP Global Sales

Evaluating & Reducing GHG Emissions

In January 2022, we crossed an important milestone on our way to carbon zero. We completed our first third-party carbon footprint survey of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. The survey is key to identifying the areas of emissions we as a winery will need to address first and is critical to gaining full membership status with IWCA.

We will keep our key stakeholders, including our customers, informed as we continue to develop our plans for reducing GHG emissions and achieving carbon neutrality at RIDGE.

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