California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance took action today to move from talking sustainability to proving sustainability.
According to the press release on Newswire:
Open to all California wineries and vineyards as a voluntary option, CSWA’s new program, Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing, requires applicants to meet 58 prerequisite criteria to be eligible for the program, assess winery and/or vineyard operations, create and implement an annual action plan and show improvement over time.
With all the potential greenwash in the business world due to consumer preference for sustainable products and services, it is refreshing to see a collective like CSWA take action to verify who is and who is not meeting steps to ensure their processes are less environmentally harmful.
Of course, this process has just been formalized, so if you see an older case that claims sustainable practices, it was probably through CSWA’s previous sustainability self-assessment program. Since CSWA’s development in 2003, over 60% of wine shipped from California growers has been self-assessed against CSWA’s measures of best management practices. Want to know more or see the most recent assessment (assessments published every 5 years)? See the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance website at http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org.
If you are really interested in sustainable wine growing practices, check out this short video http://inr.mediaseed.tv/EcoWine_36816.