VID-EXPERT project: a smart application for calculating and reducing the carbon footprint in the wine industry

Photograph: Torres Family vineyard in El Lloar (DOCa Priorat)

The wine sector is particularly sensitive to climate change. To combat this, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, for which it is essential to know their origins and magnitudes. However, calculating the carbon footprint of vineyard and winery activities is difficult due to the large number and variety of emission sources. Moreover, the complexity of mitigation decision making is high, requiring not only technical, but also economic and even cultural knowledge and data.

In this context, the VID-EXPERT project has been launched within the framework of the “supra-regional operational groups” programme of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture. The main objective is the development of an intelligent system for the diagnosis of the carbon footprint and the management of climate change mitigation in the wine sector. In other words, a tool for decision-making and monitoring.

The project methodology consists of several stages. In the first stage, a literature review was carried out in two areas: carbon footprint calculation methodology and available mitigation measures. On the one hand, the relevant variables for calculating the carbon footprint are selected and converted into questions in a questionnaire to be answered by a certain number of managers of wineries and vineyards of various types. Another questionnaire aims to find out about the processes involved in mitigation decision-making by companies in the sector. On the other hand, the available mitigation measures are put in relation to their effectiveness and cost-benefit ratio.

In the second stage, the data obtained are subjected to advanced statistical analysis. This will make it possible to establish a model of the process of calculating and managing the carbon footprint of wine companies. Finally, based on this model, an advanced software tool will be developed, tested and validated in several companies. This tool will be fed by data analysis and will use artificial intelligence to not only quantify carbon emissions and where they come from, but also to propose mitigation solutions customised to each particular case and the idiosyncrasies of the company.

The project was submitted to the call for innovation projects of general interest by operational groups of the European Association for Innovation in Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (AEI-Agri), within the framework of the National Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. The proposal was selected and provided with funds for its development. The project has already started and will run until June 2025. The task force is made up of the Spanish Association for Standardisation (UNE, for its Spanish acronymn), the project coordinator; the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV); the engineering company Intergia Energía Sostenible (INTERGIA); the technology company Sistemas Avanzados de Tecnología, S.A. (SATEC); the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM); the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA); and the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR).

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<li>Total: 599,444€</li>
<li>EU Cofinancing: 100%</li>
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