Continuous Improvement of VIVA-Certified Wines: Analysis and Perspective of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

The agri-food sector is one of the major contributors of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions responsible for global climate change. The suitability of world areas for viticulture is evolving due to climate change, with new challenges linked to the sustainability of production. Viticulture and the wine sector in general are, at the same time, impactful sectors associated with negative environmental externalities. The VIVA certification program is focused on the sustainability performance of the vine–wine supply chain in Italy. It comprehends four scientific indicators, called “Air”, “Water”, “Vineyard”, and “Territory”. The Air indicator expresses the impact that the production of a specific wine and / or the company activities have on climate change. This paper analyzes and compares GHG emissions of 45 wines certified VIVA 2.0 (or the subsequent 2.1 update). Results showed that the most impactful phase is the bottling phase (average values of 0.58 kg CO2-eq/bottle), which accounts for 41.1% of total emissions, followed by the industrial phase (about 19.9%). The total values of GHG emissions for each wine profile ranged between 0.81 and 2.52 kg CO2-eq/bottle. A coefficient of performances of GHG emissions was calculated to show the weak phase for each wine, a useful tool with a view to continuous improvement.