Project 1:

*NEW* Comprehensive Sustainability Program of the Chilean Wine Industry

What is the Wines of Chile’s Sustainability Program?
The Wines of Chile Sustainability Program is a series of initiatives and projects that are intended to establish the sustainability of Chile's wine industry. The Chilean wine industry has determined that its primary need in terms of innovation is sustainability, which is understood as the convergence of production processes that are environmentally friendly, socially equitable, and economically viable. The Program will be implemented by the Consorcios del Vino, the technical branch of Vinos de

Chile that is a joint venture formed between the country's wineries and five of its main universities to foster research, development, and innovation.

What does the Wines of Chile Sustainability Program include?
The program includes a range of projects that encompasses sustainability in a comprehensive, in-depth manner. The Sustainability Code is the cornerstone of the Program and addresses its key areas through specific projects that are:

The National Sustainability Code
This system establishes the framework for the entire value chain of wine production and identifies the different practices from the perspective of sustainability. The Code establishes a common framework to guide all of our wineries toward increasingly sustainable practices. This Code will offer wineries the opportunity to measure their progress toward the use of more sustainable practices through recognized and validated accreditation or certification.

Results: Code, implementation of the system and accreditation of all Vinos de Chile wineries.
Timeframe:
Start date: May 2010,
Code and web platform established: December 2010,
Implementation of the accreditation system: December 2010–December 2011.

Specific projects in the Code’s priority areas that will strengthen the adoption of sustainability measures:

Social Responsibility (SR) for both the association as a whole and for individual companies:
A Guide to SR for Vinos de Chile using the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) G–3 Methodology, validated by a recognized consulting firm.

Result: Guide to Preparing GRI Reports
Timeframe: Project completed.
Start date July 2009, End date March 2010.

The “GRI Reports from all Vinos de Chile wineries” project will produce reports using the GRI methodology from all 90 of the association’s member wineries over the course of the next 18 months, with technical consultants from Vincular PUCV, lending support and training in the wineries and generate the reports.

Timeframe:
Start date May 2010, duration 18 months.

Network of meteorological stations for Chile’s winegrowing valleys

This pioneering project seeks to establish the first network of meteorological stations in all of Chile’s winegrowing valleys, beginning with an initial investment in 33 stations, with additional third-party stations to be added later. The network will be able to provide basic real-time, online information such as temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind velocity, as well as processed information such as degree days, and some primary bioclimatic indexes that could be used for a climatic delimitation of terroir. The network will be owned by the Consorcios and Vinos de Chile, and the information will be available to all of its member wineries.

Results: a network of more than 33 stations installed throughout the country’s winegrowing valleys to provide online, real time information.
Timeframe:
Start date: May 2010, Network installed–September 2010

Energy efficiency in the Winery, Climate Change, and Carbon Footprint

This project examined energy use in winemaking processes and offered recommendations for improving energy efficiency at each stage of the process. The information was compiled into a Guide that will serve as an energy efficiency roadmap for wineries. In the Carbon Footprint project, protocols were explained, the GHG calculator was applied to a pilot winery, and general conclusions were drawn about the scope of the footprint for wine production. Additionally, an innovative tool designed for benchmarking global energy was introduced: the Energy Equivalent Liter (EEL), which compares energy used to produce different types of wine rather than types of wineries.

Results:
1. Guide to Energy Efficiency, Climate Change, and the Carbon Footprint 
2. (Guide (English Version):  http://www.vinnova.cl/
3. Web page: http://www.co2vid.cl/
4. EEL (Energy Equivalent Liter)

This program is developed with contributions of the Fund of Innovation for Competitiveness (Fondo de Innovación para la Competitividad).

Project Length: 3 years