The members of the VID-EXPERT project task force met at the headquarters of the Spanish Wine Federation to review and discuss the results obtained after almost three years of implementation.
The VID-EXPERT tool has been designed with the purpose of calculating the carbon footprint in vineyards and wineries, while offering exhaustive diagnoses and personalised recommendations to mitigate the environmental impact of the sector. During the meeting, the importance of this tool was highlighted as a vital resource to promote sustainability and environmental responsibility in the wine sector and to support the sector’s green and digital transition.
For its development, the entities involved in the project gathered information through technical surveys carried out at Spanish wineries, covering both the viticulture (vineyards) and production (wineries) sides. In parallel, a data model was developed to support this intelligent system, based on a machine learning methodology to calculate the carbon footprint and recommend customised mitigation measures compatible with the management model of the wine company. This model considers the sources of greenhouse gas emissions in winemaking activities, allowing wineries to assess their impact in a comprehensive manner.
In addition, VID-EXPERT is a key ally for companies in the sector in the development of plans and actions that allow them to obtain or maintain the SWfCP (Sustainable Wineries for Climate Protection) sustainability certification, promoted by the Spanish Wine Federation, as a benchmark of sustainability for wineries in Spain.
This innovative VID-EXPERT tool not only allows wineries to calculate their overall carbon footprint, but also facilitates the breakdown of this footprint between different practices in the vineyard. In this way, wineries will be able to identify the areas where it is most necessary and effective to reduce their carbon footprint. This personalised and precise approach will favour an efficient management of emission reductions, without the need to use external resources.
In the future, it is hoped that this intelligent tool will be available to the sector to become an ally of winegrowers and winemakers in their continuous improvement of environmental management and provide them with the means to become a leader and driving force in the fight against climate change in the Spanish and European agricultural sector.

VID-EXPERT Project

Vid-Expert has been a project funded by the EU through a grant for innovation projects of general interest for operational groups of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (AEI-Agri), in the framework of the National Programme for Rural Development 2014-2020 (PNDR) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Spain.
The VID-EXPERT Task Force is formed by: Asociación Española De Normalización (UNE), Federación Española el Vino (FEV), Intergia Energía Sostenible (INTERGIA), Sistemas Avanzados de Tecnología, S.A. (SATEC), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (CEIGRAM-UPM), Instituto De Investigación Y Tecnología Agroalimentarias (IRTA) and Universidad De Zaragoza (UNIZAR).

More information on the VID-EXPERT website: https://www.une.org/cooperacion/vid-expert

RELEVANT INFORMATION:
Responsible for the content: Members of the G.O. VID-EXPERT.
Managing Authority responsible for implementing EAFRD assistance: Directorate-General for Rural Development, Innovation and Agri-food Training (DGDRIFA).