De Bortoli’s sustainability efforts recognised

Australian wine company De Bortoli has been presented with the Sustainability Advantage Platinum Project certificate, the first to be awarded in the state of New South Wales.

The company, which is responsible for the production of wine in both Victoria and New South Wales, was presented with the award by New South Wales environment minister, Gabrielle Upton, at a ceremony in Sydney in June.

This is the first time that the accolade – awarded for outstanding environmental leadership and innovation – has been given to a business in New South Wales. The project itself – the Office of Environment and Heritage’s (OEH) flagship Sustainability Advantage programme – encourages and enables sustainable business practices.

The panel acknowledged De Bortoli’s work in developing the ‘De Bortoli Method’ – a ‘potassium recovery system’ that converts the winery’s waste water into an ecological cleaning agent. The project is the culmination of five years of research and development as the company strives to become a ‘zero waste winery.’

Strategic delivery manager of the Sustainability Programs Branch at the OEH, Alice Cahill, commented: “We are proud to have partnered with De Bortoli Wines over the last decade and to have supported their journey to improved sustainability”.

“With this innovative Platinum Project, which is truly circular by design, De Bortoli Wines is rightly acknowledged as a world leader for its demonstrated commitment to sustainable production and consumption. We applaud De Bortoli Wines pursuit of zero waste and zero harm and their willingness to share their knowledge with the NSW business community”.

“In addition to improving waste water recycling by reducing the use of harmful chemicals, De Bortoli has claimed that its technology ‘has the potential to deliver significant savings and lower greenhouse gas emissions”.

Lindsay Gullifer, health, safety and environment manager at De Bortoli Wines, who received the certificate on behalf of the De Bortoli family, said: “Potassium recovery is of value because it creates a closed loop system to reduce consumption of harmful chemicals in cleaning our tanks and machinery. Working with a dedicated team to achieve recognition at this level has made me very proud. We’re really making progress to leave a positive legacy for the next generation”.

De Bortoli Wines is also aiming to convert 30% of its Riverina vineyards to organic viticulture in five years.