CEMARS certification 

In March 2010, Villa Maria marked a milestone in sustainability, achieving Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) certification, as part of its strategy to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

CEMARS is an internationally recognised carbon reduction programme developed in New Zealand by Landcare Research and focuses solely on measuring and managing an organisation’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions profile.

The path to certification saw Villa Maria measure all carbon emissions from the growing of grapes, winemaking and bottling as well as contributing emissions from vehicles, freight, air travel and manufacture of packaging. The objective is to reduce both overall emissions and emissions per unit of production.

"Receiving CEMARS certification is a great achievement and a significant milestone for Villa Maria. Over the past 15 years we have launched many initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact and CEMARS represents the next step taken in that journey,” said Villa Maria National Wineries Manager and Executive Director, Fabian Yukich.