A group of 14 Oregon wineries are stepping up their efforts to go green by completing the Carbon Neutral Challenge, a pilot programme designed to achieve industry-wide emissions certification.

Local newspaper the Newberg Graphic reports that the Oregon Environmental Council partnered with the Oregon Wine Board in 2007 to launch the scheme, which requires vintners to measure and reduce their carbon footprint.

This includes providing details of emissions from tractors used in vineyards, heating facilities in storage cellars and even information about the kind of lighting used in tasting rooms.

Sokol Blosser, Chehalem, Winderlea, A to Z/Rex Hill, Stoller Lemelson and Adelsheim are some of the first producers to complete the challenge.

"We're concerned about the environment and want to avoid sullying it," Harry Peterson-Nedry, owner of Chehalem Winery, told the newspaper.

"I thought this was an innovative approach."

Wineries participating in the scheme currently represent approximately 20 per cent of total wine production in Oregon.