Environmental Champion

Effective and Sustainable Waste Management has been implemented on all 13 farms that form part of the Du Toitskloof Fairtrade Initiative. 13 rubbish dumps (including the wine cellar) have been covered and closed down and a weekly rubbish removal system has been put in place. Rubbish is now collected at the homes of workers and taken to municipal dumpsites, while a certified contractor removes empty chemical containers twice a year.

Chemical audits have been done on all production units and we have a chemical consultant who assists with the fading out of chemical products. A great achievement has been to remove all chemicals from our hazardous materials list and we continue to educate our Chemical Workers on Health and Safety requirements, procedures and working with chemicals in a responsible manner. More detail with regards to increasing biological pest control can be noted by the erection of raptor-poles against mice at night, the sowing of groundcovers between vineyards to reduce weeds and the cleaning of vineyard benches to fight off snails.

We pride ourselves in our management of soil and water use and have successfully done environmental audits on all our production units with plans for reclamation projects; Du Toitskloof Wines as well as 2 farms are already in the implementation stage.  We have successfully managed to preserve environmentally sensitive areas and remain consistent by making sure that buffer zones on production units are properly marked and that riverbanks are being treated to remove indigenous flora and restrict water usage. We focus on bringing in more native and endangered fauna species when preparing the ground for new developments and always have the soil tested before planting can commence. Irrigation systems are checked every year for efficiency and or leakage. Furthermore, we have installed meters on every production unit, which enables us to measure soil moisture in the vineyards and therefore restrict water usage. Other effective water saving methods have been the upgrading of irrigation systems - 90% of all our irrigation systems on production units have already been replaced with drip-irrigation systems.

We believe in sharing knowledge and therefore the inclusion of the community in all our efforts for change is a very high priority. All workers have received training on basic principles of environmental preservation, workers are encouraged to start their own vegetable gardens, primary school students take part in the planting of native trees and Chemical Workers are trained to understand the dangers of pollution and the responsible use of chemicals. We continue to promote Biodiversity by collaborating with Cape Nature and the management of Biodiversity on all production units. We always focus on the removal of indigenous flora and the establishment of native flora.