From vine to green: how Wakatū Incorporation is building towards a sustainable future

Wakatū Incorporation belongs to about four thousand owners descended from the whānau and hapū of Whakatū, Motueka and Mohua. Its food and wine arm, Kono, makes Tohu Wines, and the business plans in five-hundred-year terms under its Te Pae Tawhiti strategy.

This EECA case study covers the energy transition plan the agency co-funded for the winery and vineyards, which found diesel for tractors, irrigation and frost fans to be the main emissions source. It covers the first changes made, including a heat scavenger to replace LPG, insulated glycol pipes and LED lighting, and the advice the team gives to other businesses: get expert help, start small, and do the projects that pay first.

^{Photo: “Wairau Valley vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand” by Jonathan Harker, licensed for reuse under CC BY 4.0}