Sustainability Report FY 2021

88 We manage as if we were guardians We grow by sharing Methodological notes Annex We preserve value through regeneration We respect our history through sustainable innovation Irrigation Project The effects of climate change have an impact on rainfall and temperature, hence a direct im- pact on the growth of the vines and agricultural activities. Climate change has resulted in the repeated occurrence of late frost, hail, torrential rain and heat waves, all of which were rare in the past. This causes changes in the vine yield and discontinuity in economic, operational and working resources. Irrigation has become a powerful means of sta- bilization in the production and interaction between the grape, soil and vintage. An effective irrigation system makes it possible to adapt the company’s production processes on a constant basis, reacting quickly to the effects of climate change and seasonal variation. From this perspective, we have embarked on creating an irrigation system and in FY 2020 the irrigation project that concerns 80% of all the surface area of the Group’s Venetian estates was completed, totaling 107 hectares. The systems only use drop irrigation that enables the water to be supplied gradually and control- led directly by the vine roots, drastically redu- cing usage compared to traditional irrigation methods and maintenance costs. Furthermore, all irrigation programming is digitalized and can be managed remotely using the electrical box of the water pump station. The irrigation shifts and sectors are regulated. The water used is withdrawn from natural chan- nels surrounding the company, hence returned to the environment in a closed circuit with irriga- tion. For Poderi Ducali, in FY 2021, a three-year plan was presented and implemented to create and/ or strengthen, depending on the site, irrigation systems on the Poggio Casciano, Gretole and Tuo- pina estates with a total investment of € 725,000. 24 hectares are currently irrigated: 20 at Poggio Casciano and 4 at Gretole. Due to the implementa- tion of the irrigation system, plans are in the wor- ks to increase the irrigated surface area to 50 and 53 hectares respectively, while 35 hectares on the Tuopina estate, which is not irrigated at present, will be irrigated when the project is introduced. At the same time, a specific project, launched in FY 2018, continues to broaden the irrigation system on the La Solatia estate, which present- ly covers 7 hectares and will be increased to 20 hectares.