Ronco Calino srl farm, G. Milazzo farm – Terre della Baronia spa, G. Ricci Curbastro and Sons farm, Salcheto farm, Barone Pizzini farm, Bosco del Merlo, Bonomi castle, Guido Berlucchi & C. spa, La Riccafana di Riccardo Fratus Farm, Vason spa winery, Perlage srl, Le Carline farm and Gemma spa:these are the 13 companies that, through the CSQA and Valoritalia, have registered in CO 2 RESA - the Agri-Food Sector Emissions Registry, the first Registry in Europe dedicated to the enhancement of carbon credits on the voluntary market in the agri-food sector, which produces 18.8% of total national emissions.
The 13 companies comply with the fundamental requirement for enrollment in CO 2 RESA : they have implemented and will continue to implement actions aimed at reducing the quantities of climate-altering gases emitted for their production with a view to sustainable development and environmental protection. In fact, all have certified the greenhouse gas inventory according to ISO 14064-1 and, applying the LCA-Life Cycle Assessment approach, calculated the corporate carbon footprint (i.e. the emissions generated by organisations, processes and products paying attention to the production cycle and life cycle). Once the quantity of emissions has been photographed in compliance with internationally codified standards, they have developed a plan to reduce them and the strategies necessary to achieve the climate mitigation objectives.
The types of intervention envisaged by the Registry
Certified companies can therefore choose between three different types of intervention for the generation of carbon credits. The first methodology involves the installation of energy production systems from renewable sources, such as biomass and solar energy, and energy efficiency measures that reduce costs and environmental impact. Another methodology concerns the so-called 'ecological corridors', ie the creation and management improvement of hedges and groves on agricultural land. Finally, the third and final type of intervention involves the use of 'biochar', vegetable carbon which absorbs CO 2 obtained from the combustion of waste biomass in the absence of oxygen and used as a soil conditioner (1 ton of biochar is able to 'sequester' up to 3 tons of CO 2 ).
The voluntary carbon market
Once the actions have been put into practice and the objectives have been achieved, the emissions 'saved' for the environment will be accounted for and access to the voluntary carbon emissions market will be accessed. How does this market work? First of all, it is necessary to make a distinction between regulated markets, which aim to prevent certain issuers from exceeding a maximum limit on the emissions assigned to them, and voluntary markets. The latter are supported by the will of public and/or private subjects to reduce their ecological footprint through the 'baseline and credits' mechanism: projects that lead to the reduction of emissions compared to a reference scenario (baseline), generate credits that can be traded on the market and purchased by other companies that want to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. The voluntary market is therefore fed by credits generated by interventions (projects) for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) and the variations in the emissions of the various greenhouse gases can be measured with a single unit of measure, the ton of CO 2 equivalent.
The Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee, composed of Eng. Domenico Gaudioso from ISPRA, Professor Aldo Iacomelli from 'La Sapienza' and Doctor Franco Miglietta , team leader of FoxLaB, will take care of updating the types of intervention and reviewing the quality standards of the actions that generate the credits and will guarantee the transparency of the methodology used.
“ We are very satisfied – said Pietro Bonato , the Managing Director of Valoritalia – with the excellent result achieved and with the immediate response from the companies that have decided to enroll in the first European Register, a project launched only a few months ago, to account for CO 2 emissions in the wine sector. Indeed, it was necessary to offer the sector, which is currently one of the most sensitive to CO 2 reduction, a tool capable of measuring the efforts made and above all highlighting them to the market. Due to the strong export vocation of the companies, we have ensured that the Register certifies the environmental protection objectives, imposed by Europe, and the actions to compensate for the climate-altering gases emitted in the production cycle. We hope that other companies will respond to this new challenge so as to increase the international competitiveness of one of the most significant productions of Italian excellence ".