For the News-Register

Several years ago, Andrea Durbin began reading about the potential impact of climate change on the international wine industry. And the news was not good.

By one estimate, 81 percent of winegrowing regions in the United States will be unsuitable for premium grape production by 2100. As executive director of the Oregon Environmental Council, her thoughts naturally drifted closer to home - to Oregon's young but burgeoning wine industry.

OEC decided to host a symposium about climate change and its effects on the Oregon wine industry. The symposium was well attended, but left wineries wondering what they can do to reduce their own carbon footprint and overall environmental impact.

Several months later, the Carbon Neutral Challenge was born, one of the first collaborative efforts in the world by wineries to measure and reduce their impact on the environment.

"We started this initiative because these wineries knew that they were the canaries in the coal mine and they wanted to do their part to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change," Durbin said.

The initiative has come a long way since its inception. The initial timeline for completion was 18 months, but it was quickly evident this would only be possible through purchase of carbon offsets, without significant energy efficiency improvements. While the purchase of carbon offsets is an important aspect, the main emphasis is on cost-effective energy efficiency investments as a means of reducing carbon footprints.

Fourteen wineries completed the first year of the program in April. Together, they represent approximately 20 percent of wine production in Oregon.

They are: A to Z Wineworks/Rex Hill, Abacela, Adelsheim Vineyard, Chehalem Winery, Cooper Mountain Vineyards, King Estate Winery, Left Coast Cellars, Lemelson Vineyards, Mahonia Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soter Vineyards, Stoller Vineyards, Willamette Valley Vineyards and Winderlea Wine Company.

"This is a significant achievement, considering that only two wineries in the United States have claimed carbon neutrality to date, and there are fewer than 15 worldwide who have completed similar programs," Durbin said.

While participating wineries know the modifications they make will not alter the course of climate change, they are aware that the wine industry has the resources to be a model for carbon reduction and sustainable business growth. Michael Brown, direct sales manager for Sokol Blosser Winery and member of the CNC's steering committee since 2007, said participating is about being a model both for the wine industry and other industries.

"We not only have an opportunity to stand out as leaders by measuring and mitigating our green house gases, but we also, and maybe more importantly, have an opportunity to educate our customers," he said. "The wine industry is the only sector of agriculture that is also a billion dollar tourism industry. Our guests will learn from us and take that knowledge back to their respective businesses."

The process CNC wineries complete each year may look like a few simple steps on paper, but participating can be time-intensive and complicated, especially during the first year. For wineries involved since the beginning, however, the required steps have been incorporated into their daily business operations.

The first step for a winery interested in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact is to complete an energy audit of facilities and operations. Energy audits identify cost-effective investment opportunities, including lighting retrofits, tank insulation, space portioning, on-demand water heating and, of course, solar panels, which half the CNC wineries have installed.

Once the audit is complete and the wineries have a better understanding of their energy usage, they can calculate their greenhouse gas footprints using a specialized accounting tool developed by Ecos Consulting specifically for the wine industry. It which allows them to annually track and input their carbon emissions.

The tool is based on international wine protocol and adheres to national and international standards for greenhouse gas reporting. At the end of each year, Ecos processes the reports and returns a simplified version to the participating wineries, making it easy for them to determine where additional energy efficiency investments can be made.

The third step requires membership in a national greenhouse-gas-reporting organization called The Climate Registry. The Climate Registry sets transparent standards to calculate, verify and publicly record greenhouse gas emissions into a single national list.

This national registry has more than 420 members, ranging to the size of the University of California and Shell Oil.

The CNC wineries represent the largest bloc of businesses to join en masse. That's no small achievement, considering the yearly membership fee is $600.

The final step requires wineries to take responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions that cannot be cost-effectively reduced by means other than investment in a regional and verifiable carbon offset project.

The CNC decided to purchase its offsets solely from agricultural projects managed by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Wineries will be investing in a methane biodigester at ThreeMile Canyon dairy farm in Boardman, and a similar dairy farm in Idaho.

While the process may seem extensive, it's proven a smart business decision, according to Luke McCollom, winemaker at Left Coast Cellars near Rickreall.

"The benefits of tracking and measuring our greenhouse gases have been huge," McCollom said. "One of the first things we noticed was that our power company forgot to credit us 400 kilowatts of energy produced by our solar panels. We also recently installed meters on our diesel and gasoline tanks, which has led to nearly $3,000 in savings in a short time."

McCollom sums up his overall experience by saying, "This program holds you accountable, encourages you to make plans and goals associated in reducing your emissions, and really makes you think critically about your resource consumption. It's better for the bottom line and the environment."

The CNC has already generated a similar initiative with the Oregon Environmental Council called The Climate Friendly Nurseries Project. Its aim is to assist Oregon's largest agricultural export industry, the nursery industry, in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Asked whether she has her eye on other agriculture industries, Durbin replied, "Yes, there are other sectors, like dairy, that have an even greater impact on climate change. But what is really important is that these initiatives show that industry sectors can collaborate and reduce their environmental impact while also improving their bottom line."

Changes will be happening to the CNC program soon, as it transitions to a permanent home at the sustainable vineyard organization LIVE. Durbin plans to help transform it into one of the first, if not the first, formal certification organization for carbon emissions in the wine industry.

For more information about the CNC, visit www.cncwine.org.

Mat Elmore is a freelance writer living in the Mississippi neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Find him at a local wine bar, or at www.foodleague.com.