October 4, 2022

Bonterra Organic Estates Joins Science Based Targets Initiative, Refining Climate Commitments with World’s Best Available Methodology

HOPLAND, Calif., October 4, 2022 – Bonterra Organic Estates®, a pioneering leader in regenerative organic winegrowing, today announced a formal commitment to refine its climate goals through the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Building on a long history of pacesetting regenerative business initiatives, Bonterra Organic Estates’ participation in SBTi’s program assures the setting of meaningful emission targets consistent with Paris Climate Agreement commitments, and provides the company with a scientifically rigorous, third-party-verified roadmap to achieve those goals.

SBTi empowers ambitious climate action in the private sector by helping organizations set and achieve emission reduction targets grounded in the best available scientific evidence regarding the climate crisis. It is a partnership between various organizations including the United Nations Global Compact, CDP, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

“By committing to SBTi standards, we are establishing parameters to set transparent, accountable and objectively validated goals for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jess Baum, director of regenerative development and sustainability for Bonterra Organic Estates. “These standards give us a roadmap that is grounded in global best practices.”

This commitment comes at a time when much of the world is focused on combating climate change through formal policies and laws. In the United States, the newly adopted Inflation Reduction Act will supercharge climate action through a variety of policies and investments. With the understanding that business plays a critical role in leading systemic change, purpose-driven companies across the globe are accelerating efforts and setting tangible goals to reverse the effects of industrialization.

Through rigorous analysis, SBTi ensures that a company limits its carbon budget in line with what is needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified as the critical threshold for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Participants in SBTi’s program must commit to swiftly reducing emissions, as objectively assessed through best available methodologies, and publicly report their progress each year. Bonterra Organic Estates is among the first wineries to join more than 3,000 visionary, committed companies including Patagonia, Danone, and Microsoft.

This commitment is the latest development in Bonterra Organic Estates’ long history as a purpose-driven business. In 2015 it was the first recipient of the California Green Medal Leader award, which recognized the winery’s longstanding commitments to sustainable practices and leadership in the California wine industry. In 2017, it was the only winery in the world to be commended at COP23 by the United Nations Climate Change secretariat, which recognized the winery’s work toward a climate positive future.

In 2020, the company declared a climate emergency, and committed to accelerating its efforts to inspire, achieve and model responsible business practices. Since then, the winery’s two largest brands, Bonterra® and Fetzer®, have both achieved Climate Neutral Certified status, and the company continues to advocate for climate-smart policies at the state and national levels regarding clean energy, healthy soils and regenerative agriculture.

“The climate crisis is a global problem, and it is already impacting our lives and the lives of future generations,” said Giancarlo Bianchetti, CEO of Bonterra Organic Estates. “As a company committed to purpose, we welcome the third-party rigor SBTi brings to our impact planning. We know its methodology is reflected in the very real need for immediate action that will pave the way to a better tomorrow.”