Sustainability
As important as our history is, what we care most about is the idea of sustainability. Our focus is on developing processes that are sustainable for the long term while also being a collaborative effort with the environment around us. Soil regeneration, biodiversity, and water conservation are some of the most important areas of focus for the team here at the winery.
For our crops, we’ve made the switch from synthetic fertilizers to organic, which is not only better for the soil long term, but it produces higher-quality fruit. For pest control, the majority of our pesticides are approved for organic farming, but we are still limited in some instances and may have to use chemical pesticides at certain times. The use of these chemical pesticides is as limited as possible for the health of our farm team, pollinators and other wildlife, and the end consumers. To keep the soil fertile, we use compost, mulch, and cover crops between the rows. Plants grown in rich, nutrient-dense soil are healthier and better able to protect themselves from pests and disease, which limits the need for pesticides and heavy fertilizers. As our Director of Operations Noemie always says, “Feed the soil, not the plant”.
Many may not think of Prince George as a very biologically diverse area, but they’d be surprised at the crops we’ve been able to grow. Our current crops are gooseberries, raspberries, blueberries, Saskatoons berries, apples, rhubarb, and hopefully soon, kiwis. These crops provide natural nesting areas for wildlife as well as food for native pollinators.
A lot of crops means a lot of water usage right? Not for us! We use a drip tape irrigation system that’s controlled by a panel. This underground watering system reduces runoff while eliminating the issue of evaporation that happens with traditional sprinkler systems.
Being located along the powerful Nechako River, we feel it’s our responsibility to keep the riverbank beautiful and limit stream bank erosion. Together with a local biologist, we’ve created an exhaustive Riparian Restoration Plan to keep riverbank erosion at a minimum.
Why our Wines are Vegan
Not only is sustainability important to us, but we’ve also ensured our wines are 100% vegan. During the fining process many wineries choose various animal byproducts to remove impurities from their wines. Most often these fining agents are egg whites, gelatin, casein, or isinglass. Instead of these traditional fining agents, we choose to use bentonite clay. This ensures our wines have the clarity we strive for while eliminating any need for animal byproducts.
Our love and respect for the land is put into each and every bottle of wine we produce here at Northern Lights.
Carbon Neutrality
We are incredibly proud to be a carbon-neutral winery. We reached this milestone by purchasing offsets through Ostrom Climate (Formerly Offsetters) which counteract the carbon emissions generated through our daily operations.
To measure our annual carbon emissions, we partner with Dr. Sinead Earley and a research student from the University of Northern British Columbia. They divide our operations into three sections in terms of carbon emissions: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. The first section, Scope 1, looks at our use of natural gas, propane, and diesel, Scope 2 analyzes electricity usage, and Scope 3 covers travel and distribution emissions. To be considered carbon neutral, businesses need to offset Scope 1 and 2 while Scope 3 is an optional analysis to provide insights into limiting future carbon emissions.
Scope 1
Natural Gas
Like most who live in the North, we rely on natural gas in order to heat our main building. In 2022, this equated to 13.96 tonnes of carbon emission equivalents (tCO2e). Some efforts we have made to limit natural gas usage are using double-pane windows to reduce heat loss, installing a high-efficiency furnace, and using a programmable thermostat to limit heat usage when no one is using the building.
Gasoline and Diesel
Gasoline is primarily used for our on-site equipment including farming equipment, tractors, and our delivery vehicle. In 2022, we used 2490 L of gasoline and 300 L of diesel fuel, which contributed a total of 5.92 tCO2e. Consumption by farm/orchard equipment decreased by 32% from the previous year.
Propane
In 2022, we reduced our propane consumption by 29.9%, using 1,591 litres for mobile patio heaters and on-site administrative heating. This eco-friendly choice lowered our 2022 carbon footprint by 2.4625 tCO2e.
Scope 2
Electricity
Like most businesses, we also need electricity to keep things running and quite literally keep the lights on. Our electricity is generated off-site and comes from BC Hydro. For 2021, our electricity usage emitted 1.16 tCO2e our electricity consumption, and resulting emissions have remained relatively constant over the course of the last six years.
Scope 3
Shipping - Materials and Supplies
In 2022, our transportation of wine bottles, cans, fruit, and materials totaled 27.129 tCO2e. We received two shipments of bottles from Shanghai, resulting in 24.104 tCO2e emissions, a 38.4% decrease from the previous year's five shipments. After piloting canned wine in 2021, our regular production in 2022 led to three shipments from Penticton, emitting 0.6778 tCO2e—more than double the emissions from testing in 2021. Throughout the year, we received ten shipments of fruit, weighing 57,000 pounds in total, contributing to 2.1666 tCO2e in emissions.
Shipping - Finished Goods
In 2022, at NLEW, our downstream distribution of wine and food emitted 5.0559 tCO2e, a decrease from 2021's 7.6297 tCO2e. Utilizing Canada Post, we shipped 835 packages, emitting 0.7828 tCO2e, slightly less than the previous year despite an increase in average package weight. Third-party services SkipTheDishes and Doordash handled 300 deliveries in Prince George, emitting 0.4276 tCO2e, marking a substantial 66.7% decrease from the previous year. Our products delivered to retailers throughout BC, totaling 158,935lbs, emitted 3.8455 tCO2e in 2022, down from 5.2155 tCO2e in 2021. Similar to upstream distribution, emissions in downstream distribution are influenced by demand fluctuations, making direct year-to-year comparisons challenging.
Employee Commuting
Throughout 2022, we employed a diverse staff with full-time, part-time, and casual/seasonal workers. A survey of 11 team members gathered information on their commuting habits, vehicle types, and average daily distances. Based on these responses, the total staff emitted 47.188 tCO2e from commuting in 2022, indicating a slight increase from the previous year's 44.163 tCO2e.
Business Travel
In 2022, our team made four trips to Vancouver by plane, covering a total of 4,192 passenger kilometers. Additionally, there were 13 business-related car trips across BC, including the average distance traveled by a rental car in the Vancouver area. The total distance covered for business-related car travel in 2022 was 14,430 km, resulting in emissions of 3.2987 tCO2e. This marked a 68.6% increase from business-related travel emissions in 2021, which amounted to just 1.9561 tCO2e.
