Denbies Wine Estate has become the first vineyard and winery in the UK to achieve net zero status to the UK Carbon Code of Conduct standard (UKCCC). Denbies joins only a handful of wine producers globally to have achieved net zero in wine production.

This achievement reflects Denbies’ ongoing commitment to sustainable and responsible wine production.

“As one of the founder members of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, we are absolutely delighted that our wines are now produced with net zero impact”, commented Chris White, CEO Denbies Wine Estate. “This is another example of the UK wine industry continuing to strive for excellence in all areas of wine production. We committed to becoming net zero as part of a five-year plan in 2022 and are delighted to have reached that goal in under two and a half years.”

The Estate, which is both an agricultural business and tourist destination, totals 380 acres, which includes 265 acres under vine and surrounding woodland and sits within the Surrey Hills National Landscape. As such, Denbies and its staff have taken responsibility for the wider environment and the surrounding countryside very seriously. This includes 10 acres within the vineyard left in their natural state to encourage biodiversity. Other actions include self-generating green energy that has been installed on the winery buildings, and environmental best practice for all new capital investment.

Denbies’ latest figures, which include the bumper harvest and bottling from 2023, show that the Estate sequestered more carbon than it emitted, leaving a carbon balance of -96 tonnes of CO2e.

Denbies appointed Triage, a leading land management consultancy, to independently certify its net zero position and to realise their ambition to create net zero wine.

Triage used the UKCCC framework to measure, report and verify all Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from the wine production process, including bottling and transportation, and measure carbon sequestration from the Estate’s natural capital: its vineyards, habitats and soil. The UKCCC certifies the net zero position, ensuring that Denbies’ wine Scope 3 emissions into the retail supply chain are zero.

UKCCC methodology and protocols align with the highest global standards including SBTI (science-based standards) and ICVCM (Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market).

Pete Wain, CPO of Triage, added, “We are delighted to use our expertise to support Denbies in playing their part in the reversal of climate change and biodiversity collapse, all whilst maintaining their primary business objective, i.e. to produce award winning, net zero certified wine. We have delivered a fully auditable, robust, and holistic set of baselines, and developed an ongoing carbon emissions’ reduction and sequestration plan, and we look forward to providing continued assistance on Denbies’ nature-friendly farming journey.”