/ 14 September 2009

Raising a glass to the earth

Backsberg wine estate is scrutinising its business to find new ways to save energy

Winner — Agriculture: Backsberg

Sometimes becoming green is more than just a business decision. It becomes an underlying philosophy that drives every part of a business and reaches down to the most junior of workers.

Backsberg, which is famous for the wonderful wines it produces, has an enthusiasm second to none. The wine farm states proudly that every underlying principle of its policies and business must be evaluated, to see what impact it has on the environment, and then adjusted. And the enthusiasm with which the family that runs the wine farm has delved into this new thinking has impressed even the most cynical of environmentalists.

The greening judges were impressed by the continued improvement of Backsberg to incorporate greening into its business.

“The attention to detail is impressive,” the judges said. “This is such a strong entry from Backsberg. It has gone so much further than last year. It’s quite impressive actually.”

The judges said the wine industry in the Cape was in tremendous danger from climate change.

“And Backsberg is already thinking of things that are going to help [it] adapt. The level of attention to detail is phenomenal.”

Last year Backsberg won the Greening the Future energy efficiency and carbon management category and this year its continued innovation won the newly introduced agriculture category.

Backsberg is a family-owned wine farm and operates as a closed corporation. According to Michael Back, proprietor of the estate, Backsberg strives for a level of corporate governance similar to that of a company.

He said “green-washing” presented a serious threat to entities such as Backsberg, which is committed to operating in a green and sustainable way — and thus the integrity of what the farm does must be above reproach and open to debate.

The first area of focus for Backsberg is to reduce its carbon footprint. Back says a carbon audit revealed 90% of the farm’s emissions were because of electricity and fuel.

Energy reductions include all buildings being fitted with energy-saving bulbs and the farm is using skylights to introduce natural lighting into these buildings. Backsberg’s diesel boiler has also been replaced with an ozone generator, “meaning that all sterilising is now done with ozone-enriched water”, said Back.

The fermentation temperature control of red wines has been totally revamped, with water from the dam used to cool the wine down to the appropriate temperature for fermenting. The dam water can be continuously recycled, which does not affect the farm’s water footprint.

Outside the main building, a fleet of lightweight Bantam bakkies is parked. Simon Back, Michael’s son, says that Backsberg decided it did not need gas-guzzlers to do the work, but could work just as well with the small but strong bakkies. Large tractors have also been replaced with smaller vehicles, and the farm has scaled down on its vehicles in general.

Backsberg has redesigned its vineyards to be more energy efficient, counting the amount of fruit produced by canopy, rather than by hectare. This, Back said, is a more energy-efficient way of farming.

Backsberg has also switched from heavyweight glass, in which their wine is bottled, to lightweight glass.

Although Back admits that energy independence is a bit of a pipe dream, he said Backsberg was trying to push the envelope as much as possible.

“We continue to work together in the areas of biomass digestion and the creation of power through methane, solar energy, gasification of organic waste and the development of woodlots.”

The woodlots, he said, are part of the longer-term solution. But short-term answers include marginal land to grow the alien Port Jackson bush, which could be used as a low-input energy crop for emerging farmers who could sell the wood as a coal replacement. But, he says, the bush has to be tightly controlled.

In terms of land use, Backsberg has set aside 10% of its land to preserve fynbos. It holds champion status in terms of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative. The farm has also set aside a further 10% of its land to grow renewable energy crops and is working with the University of Stellenbosch on a woodlot programme.

“The farm has developed furniture made from spent barrels, ensuring that 200 years of carbon capture does not end up on a landfill site after five to six years of use in the cellar,” said Back.

Back said consumers’ hearts will be won over in the long term by the green mind-shift.

“As you make consumers more aware of your efforts, a new level of brand loyalty will evolve,” he said.

And though all the changes require some investment, it does offer long-term financial rewards.

“If you conserve electricity, your Eskom bill will be cheaper,” he said. “But at the end of the day it is so much more then simply getting a smaller bill.”

The farm has invested heavily in winning the hearts and minds of its staff to become greener and aware of how energy is being wasted. Management arranged a screening of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and they encourage staff to take the initiative on how energy could be saved in future with their own ideas.

For Arbor Week, Backsberg is working with Starke Ayres Garden Centre in Cape Town to create awareness and excitement around planting trees — specifically the tree of the year, the tree fuchsia (Halleria lucida).

With the purchase of a case of wine from the Backsberg tasting room during September, patrons will have the option of taking home either a Halleria lucida tree or a voucher for the Starke Ayres Garden Centre (while stocks last). In turn, Starke Ayres will be giving away a bottle of Backsberg Chenin Blanc 2009 with every tree purchased from the garden centre.