Counting Carbon: Lessons from the South African Fruit and Wine Industry Initiative

The South African fruit and wine industry exports 2.2 megatons of fruit and 412,000,000 liters of wine each year. As the threat of climate change continues to mount, governmental bodies and retailers are beginning to consider labeling schemes and other measures to track and reduce carbon emissions. In addition, the price of fuel will likely continue to rise, providing a potentially more significant incentive to reduce fossil fuel consumption. In response, the South African Fruit and Wine Industry worked together to develop a calculation methodology and local data set to help growers understand their carbon footprints and look for ways to reduce emissions and costs. Shelly Fuller will join us to explain their work to date as well as their next steps for the future.

For more information, please contact Suzanne Greene at segreene@mit.edu or +1 617-715-5473.