Sustainability
Sustainable Future
Suvla's true connection with nature begins with wine production, which followed the planting of its own vineyards in 2003. This journey continues by growing, developing, and expanding its family. Looking back on the swiftly passed years, achievements that Suvla is proud of include, in particular, the implementation of environmentally friendly projects. Under the guideline of a nature-friendly approach and ecological sustainability, Suvla's outstanding projects include: the EU-certified organic certification of the family vineyards, which have reached an area of 1,000 decares; the "Renewable Solar Energy" project in the winery in the field of ecological sustainability; as well as another significant investment out of respect for the environment – the construction of the wastewater treatment plant, which took two years to build. The Kilye brand, founded in the early years with a passion for natural, healthy, and additive-free production, has continued for around 18 years now – with a production model that particularly focuses on female labor, as well as with a selection of special, high-quality natural and organic products.
In 2009, wine production began with the restoration of a former textile factory in Eceabat and its transformation into a winery. The Suvla winery houses three integrated production areas for microvinification, experimental vinification, and large-scale production. With a processing capacity of around 5 million liters, the winery has a contemporary infrastructure that uses advanced technology and natural methods – including a gravity system, special cooling rooms, an oak barrel cellar, a laboratory, and conical and rotary tanks.
In the focus of the fight against changing climate conditions and global warming, Suvla is implementing the "Renewable Energy" project in the field of ecological sustainability. With the complete covering of the winery roof with solar panels, the winery has relied on the sun since 2021 and has fully switched to "Renewable Solar Energy." The winery and the entire production complex cover their energy needs completely from solar energy. Around 71% of the total electricity consumption is covered by solar panels. As a result, 2,174 trees are saved annually, and approximately 333,490 tons of carbon emissions are avoided per year.
Nature-friendly understanding
With increasing capacity, after long-term work on the management of wastewater generated during year-round grape processing and vinification, Suvla's environmentally friendly project – the wastewater treatment plant – was realized. Thanks to this plant, the wastewater generated after processing is freed from harmful components while preserving its chemical, physical, bacteriological, and ecological properties, making it harmless to nature and the environment.
This system, located at the back of the winery and resembling a small factory, functions as a treatment plant with a capacity of 100 tons per day and includes all physical, chemical, and biological processes. Treatment is carried out chemically, physically, or biologically and includes preliminary settling tanks, chemical and biological treatment units, an aeration tank, a secondary clarifier, and sludge dewatering units (filter press). As a result of the treatment, it is ensured that the physical, chemical, bacteriological, and ecological properties of the receiving water body into which the wastewater is discharged are not altered.
Given the increasing natural disasters worldwide and the ever more difficult conditions for humanity in the fight against climate change and global warming, it is undeniable that the solution ultimately comes again from people and their contributions. Among those who implement Suvla's environmentally friendly and similar projects are probably the most invisible heroes of the winery: the "Winery Support Team". All technical work of production, manufacturing, electrics, process water, air and nitrogen systems, generators, steam systems, solar systems, chiller cooling systems, hot water systems, as well as the effective operation and optimization of wastewater treatment plants, emerge from the hands of this skilled and creative team. Through active optimization and continuous improvement projects, the team makes a sustainable contribution to the company during production. Thanks to the power of human labor, Suvla is in safe hands within its own ecosystem.
Upcycling at Suvla – Carpentry
Upcycling refers to creating added value by reusing items whose original useful life has ended. In this sense, upcycling means repairing or renewing discarded objects and transforming them into something new for a different purpose. At the same time, it means recycling or reusing an original object in such a way that its value is increased. The difference between upcycling and recycling lies in the approach itself: recycling involves returning used products to their original state, while upcycling involves reusing used products as new materials.
It is precisely at this point that the 100 x 120 cm bottle pallets delivered for bottling are not disposed of in the Suvla Winery's carpentry workshop, but are instead converted into 80 x 120 cm pallets for domestic shipping and reused. In this way, upcycling actively contributes to sustainability.
Similarly, the "rejuvenation" of the olive trees carried out in January, February, and March includes pruning to promote their healthy growth. The stronger pieces of wood resulting from the pruning are upcycled and transformed into table accessories such as cheese boards, coasters, and bottle neck collars. These are used in the company's own restaurants and displayed and offered for sale in the concept stores.
