Responsibility
Actively for the environment and the common future
We Viinitie people want to take responsibility for our own well-being as well as the well-being of the environment, and invest in a more ecological and therefore better future. In addition to having fun with each other at work, we are members of the Wine in Moderation community and advocate for moderate alcohol consumption. In addition, we purposefully reduce the carbon footprint created by our operations.
Smaller carbon footprint & Ekokompassi certificate
The Ekokompassi certificate granted to Viinitie in early 2021 confirms that we operate in an environmentally responsible manner (our operations bind more greenhouse gases than they cause them). The Ekokompassi cooperation helped us to understand the environmental effects of our operations even more broadly.
Based on this, we implemented measures aimed at carbon negativity - even so that they did not increase the selling prices of our wines to customers. We calculated the carbon footprint of all our foreign logistics, i.e. from the producer's door to Viinitie's customer's door, and showed Ekokompass that we have an internationally verifiable carbon footprint. In this, we were known to be the first in our field in the whole world.
In addition, we took various measures (actions, see pictures below) here in Finland. With them:
- our transport vehicles in the capital region and the Viinitie office's own car use Neste MyDiesel fuel.
- we deliver domestic shipments as Posti's carbon-neutral transports.
- today we offset the carbon dioxide emissions of our business flights.
According to Ekokompass, we are a great example for other entities interested in reducing their organization's environmental impact. For the certificate, we are audited annually.
How responsibly do we act?
Enthusiastic about the certification, we have started mapping and calculating our company's carbon footprint. How does this show up in our daily activities?
- Our office in the center of Helsinki runs on renewable electricity - and produces 9,000 kilos less CO2 emissions per year.
- The glass bottles collected from our operations are recycled for glass collection - like 95% of all glass packaging in Finland . An important step if you think about the fact that a kilo of sorted glass reduces emissions by 0.5 kg compared to glass that ends up in mixed waste !
- We encourage our producers to switch to lighter glass bottles and tell you that in the Finnish market, lighter packaging already affects many people's purchase decisions.
- We map out new ecological packaging materials with the future in mind.
- We mainly import wines from producers who farm under environmental conditions, i.e. with organic and/or biodynamic methods.
- We acquired a five-hectare arable land in Estonia, where the renewable forest that we planted now grows, acting as a carbon sink.
- We reduced the need for coal-based energy by renting 10 solar panels from a local operator in Suvilahti, Helsinki.
We compensate the emissions from our operations that we cannot reduce with the help of certified compensation programs .
Towards a cleaner climate with logistical solutions
Up to a quarter of the European Union's carbon dioxide emissions come from logistics. To reach the carbon neutral goal by 2050, the EU should reduce transport emissions by 90%. If 75% of goods transport were changed from tires to rails and waterways, this is possible. While trucks are better options than airplanes in terms of the environment, ships produce the least emissions of all.
The packaging material and location are also of great importance. Transporting wine in tanks and bottling in the target country's market reduces carbon dioxide emissions by about 40% compared to bottling on the farm and transporting packaged bottles. Emissions are also generated from the manufacture of glass bottles .
The world's wine production and transportation produces approximately 5.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Although five million tons is less than 1% of the world's emissions, depending on the method of calculation, 42-68% of this figure comes from wine transport and glass bottles. How do we at Viinitie put our cards together to reduce transport emissions?
- We concentrate our loads coming from Europe to Estonia, from where they come to Finland together.
- We only use biodiesel as fuel for domestic transport.
- We offset the carbon dioxide emissions of flights and car rentals for our producer visits.
- We have been cooperating in storage and logistics since 2011 with the carbon-neutral operator, Posti.
Various environmental certificates
The responsibility certificates used by our partners are mentioned in the producer presentations and in our downloadable price list, where you can read more about the certificates. In addition, it is mentioned on our website if the producer's wines are certified as products according to organic or biodynamic wine production. We have labeled as vegan-friendly products wines that, according to the producer, have been made without ingredients of animal origin, regardless of whether a vegan certificate has been applied for the wines .
