Certified sustainability: Tenute del Cerro measures its impact

Tenute del Cerro selected Equalitas because it was designed specifically for the wine sector and evaluates more than agricultural and production practices. Its scope reaches from the origin of planting material and other supplies through vineyard and cellar work, packaging, transport, employee travel, distribution and delivery.

Achieving certification required cooperation among administration, vineyard teams, cellar staff and logistics personnel. Consumption and operational data were collected for each stage so that individual processes could be examined and improvement priorities identified.

The programme was expanded with carbon-footprint and water-footprint calculations. These indicators measure greenhouse-gas emissions, water consumption and the company’s wider effect on water systems. They support annual objectives such as reducing water used during cellar washing, installing photovoltaic systems, lowering electricity demand and using lighter bottles to cut emissions from glass manufacture and transport.

Equalitas sits alongside an integrated system of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, IFS Food and SA8000 standards addressing quality, environmental management, food safety and social responsibility. At the time of publication, Equalitas covered La Poderina and Fattoria del Cerro, with extension planned for other estates. Certification information was also intended to become accessible to consumers through a mark and QR code on back labels.