CarboNZero Recertification Provides a Practical Product Standard for Measurement of Embedded Carbon Emissions in a Bottle of Wine

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 13/PRNewswire/ --

The New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC), makers of Grove Mill, Sanctuary and
Frog Haven wines, has achieved carbon neutral recertification under the world
leading carboNZeroCERT TM programme.

Since becoming the world's first carboNZero certified wine company in
September 2006 the NZWC and Landcare Research have been working at the
forefront of this evolving environmental issue. The measurement of its
greenhouse gas emissions has been aligned with the emerging British Standard
PAS2050 for measuring the life cycle emissions of products.

The process has been developed by Landcare Research New Zealand and was
independently audited by Deloitte (NZ) to ensure its integrity.

Professor Ann Smith, carboNZero Technical Manager for Landcare Research,
says:

"Our collaboration with The New Zealand Wine Company has provided the
perfect platform for ensuring that the carboNZero programme remains at the
cutting edge in the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions associated with
wine production. An important principle of the carboNZero programme is that
we require companies to "walk the talk" and measure, manage and mitigate
their emissions before going to market with carboNZero certified products."

"This year they have gone further and added the life cycle emissions
associated with the production of wine thus achieving carboNZero
certification for both the organisation and the product. I commend the New
Zealand Wine Company for their commitment."

Rob White, CEO of The NZWC, says the company has invested significantly
in sustainability which not only encompasses the environmental aspect, but
social concerns and financial imperatives:

"We view sustainability in its adopted meaning of "being able to do
tomorrow, what we do today". If the rate of global warming from greenhouse
gas emissions continues as predicted by many observers we will struggle to
grow grapes of the quality that Marlborough has become famous for."

"Our position as a pioneer in this field has seen us garner huge amounts
of media attention and business opportunities", continues White. "The model
of aligning our environmental and business aspirations was adopted by the
board two years and we are beginning to see this come to fruition through
significant sales growth."

The NZWC has entered into business relationships with a number of large
retailers on the back of its environmental positioning.

Roger Kerrison, Sustainable Development Manager for the NZWC, says that
carbon neutral products are going become more prevalent in the near future.

"There are two projects that we have been involved in during the last
year that indicate to us that retailers are beginning to ask their suppliers
to provide carbon neutral solutions to consumers. Firstly we now trade with a
number of retailers such as Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose who are actively
looking for environmentally responsible suppliers. Secondly we have been
selected by the Thresher Group to provide carbon neutral wines for their
Origin ethical range."

"I am aware of around 50 other wineries around the world that are
undertaking carbon neutral certification. Proliferation of these wines will
allow retailers to set up carbon neutral sections much like we have seen with
organic produce."

The carbon footprint for the NZWC for the financial year ending June 2007
was 809t CO2e. This is a significant increase on the previous year's
footprint, largely due to business expansion, inclusion of suppliers'
emissions and HFC's.

Dave Pearce, Chief Winemaker for the NZWC, says that continued evaluation
of emissions has uncovered some unexpected results:

"Continuing work from our first year's footprint we designed our
reduction programmes around energy use and distribution efficiencies. This
year though we had a refrigerant leak in a compressor and this has driven our
footprint back up. The leak which only emitted 113kg's of refrigerant gas
into the atmosphere had a global warming potential (GWP) of 3,300, adding
372t CO2e to our annual footprint! This emission source was 400% larger than
electricity this year and is something that the refrigeration industry need
to provide guidance and solutions on as a matter of urgency."

The NZWC has put in place a number of emissions reduction programmes and
is currently working with UK Government Agency WRAP (Waste and Resources
Action Programme) on their GlassRite project which will see adoption of
lightweight packaging solutions into the UK marketplace from the 2008 vintage
onwards.

For more information:
-- Dave Pearce, NZWC Chief Winemaker, +643-572-8200
-- Roger Kerrison, NZWC Sustainable Development Manager, +64-21917699
email roger@grovemill.co.nz
-- Ann Smith, Landcare Research, +643-321-9804, email
smitha@landcareresearch.co.nz
-- www.grovemill.co.nz

Web site: http://www.grovemill.co.nz

Source: The New Zealand Wine Company

Dave Pearce, NZWC Chief Winemaker, +643-572-8200; Roger Kerrison, NZWC Sustainable Development Manager, +64-21917699, roger@grovemill.co.nz; Ann Smith, Landcare Research, +643-321-9804, smitha@landcareresearch.co.nz

2008-03-12 21:41:16 0311364 PRNEWSWIRE