From the Editor

THE MAXIM ‘one person’s trash is another’s treasure’ is getting plenty of use in Marlborough right now, with the likes of Future Post making vineyard posts out of waste plastic, and Repost repurposing broken wooden posts for farm fencing. 

As wine companies seek a lower impact and greater circularity, they’re looking for more of those ‘trash’ to ‘treasure’ journeys, like Yealands working with The Green Circle on a pyrolysis plant to turn grape marc and lees into high carbon content biochar.. 

In this edition we take a look at the progress of Repost, a company founded by a farmer concerned about the cost of farm fencing and a viticulturist frustrated by piles of broken vineyard posts. They had the right idea at the right time. The unwanted posts, which are a headache for growers to dispose of due to their chemical treatment, have been a boon to farmers facing wetland and water regulations that require extensive fencing. They pay half the price of a normal farm post, while winegrowers pay less than they would to dump their posts at landfill. Meanwhile, waste operators are relieved to have a painful waste product diverted from the dump. Co-founder Dansy Coppell says four years after the company began, they are spending far less time “hustling” for business, and far more of it working out how to keep ahead of burgeoning demand from winegrowers and farmers. It’s a triple win for circularity and a brilliant example of good environmental and economic outcomes aligning. 

That’s something Dr Edwin Massey, New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) general manager sustainability, also talks about in this edition, in the lead up to Climate Action Week Marlborough. The event is aimed at identifying solutions and demonstrating the benefits of climate change mitigation, “not just to help the planet but to assist people in saving money in the long term”, he says. “These solutions can maximise the effects of your operations and minimise your emissions, saving you in the hip pocket. At times like this, that’s really important.” 

You’ll find the same theme in this month's expert opinion piece, The Vantage Point. Insa Errey, sector decarbonisation lead for EECA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, explains how increasing energy efficiency can result in lower carbon emissions and lower costs, along with increased market share and improved business reputation. 

Waste minimisation and climate change mitigation have to be part of conversations in the wine industry now, but they’re conversations that will progress far more easily when exciting options for reduced waste and increased efficiency make the right decision a “no brainer”. 

SOPHIE PREECE