Backsberg Wine Estate has won the Mail & Guardian Greening the Future award for energy efficiency and carbon management.
The M&G Greening the Future awards are now in their fifth year and seek to recognise the achievements of companies and organisations that work unflaggingly to ensure a cleaner and healthier planet.
Michael Back accepted the honours on behalf of Backsberg at the award ceremony held in Johannesburg on 5 June 2008. There were six different environmental categories that were recognised on the night. Other category winners included the likes of Woolworths, Wesbank, Coca Cola and Omnia Fertilizer. Backsberg is thrilled to be flying the environmental flag for relatively smaller companies.
The judges praised Backsberg for the discerning manner in which it has approached energy usage and conservation. Based on some of the changes implemented on the farm and in the vineyards, the judges cited Backsberg as a great example of a company identifying environmental risks and opportunities.
Backsberg became Carbon Neutral in 2006 through measuring its carbon emissions and taking measures to offset their impact. One of the offset projects was a major tree-planting program in the nearby town Klapmuts. Since then Backsberg has continued in its quest to reduce its impact on the environment.
Some fundamental decisions taken include replacing all tractors and farm vehicles with the smallest and most fuel-efficient possible on the market. There have also been significant changes in thinking regarding vineyard layout and yields. Vineyard layouts have been changed to decrease the amount of running metres or kilometers a tractor has to drive per hectare. All of these measures are in keeping with the belief that protecting the environment and producing top quality wines are parallel goals.
Eskom sponsored the award for energy efficiency and carbon management. This certainly contributes to raising awareness about the need to protect the environment for future generations.
Visitors to Backsberg are able to purchase trees directly from the Backsberg tasting room to offset carbon emissions caused by travelling to the Estate or other activities.
neutral (adj.) means indifferent, disinterested, dispassionate…
Carbon Neutral since 2006 means the opposite
For more information visit: www.backsberg.co.za
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