Northern Lights Estate Winery Is Carbon Neutral

Nov 30, 2017 | 2:17 PM

The Northern Lights Estate Winery is now carbon neutral. Through its work with the Chamber of Commerce and CN’s Carbon Reduction Project, the winery has achieved Scope One and Two certifications through a decision to purchase carbon credits to offset the environmental impacts of its operations. But that isn’t the end of the work. Owner/Operator Doug Bell says they would like to achieve the third level, which would put them “better than carbon neutral.”
The process begins with the students in Kyrke Gaudreau’s Carbon Management class at UNBC.
“Effectively what we do is we work with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to measure the carbon footprint of a local business, or a suite of them, to help them both figure out what their impact is on the environment and how they can improve their operations,” he explains. “To become more sustainable.”
In the case of some businesses, like the winery, carrying the title of “carbon neutral” can be used as a branding tool. But that may not be the draw for some other businesses.
“But, if that actually helps them reduce their Hydro bills, their Fortis bills, then that hits the bottom line of the business just as much.”
This is the third year of CN’s Carbon Reduction Project, with two years remaining on it.