VISION

ON THE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF OUR WINE

AND VINEYARDS

This policy paper has its roots in the worksof the International Congress: Sustainable Viticulture and Wine Production, organized

on the 12-13 November 2013 in Milanowithin the 25th Edition of the SIMEI International Oenological and Bottling Equipment Exhibition.The two day event was attended by more than

300 prominent representatives of policy makers, industry, research and stakeholders

in an interactive and highly participatory discussion on defining a global concept

for sustainability in the wine value chain

INTERNATIONALCONGRESS ON WINESUSTAINABILITY

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:We would like to express our gratitude to the members of the Steering Committee and the Secretariat of the “International Congress: Sustainable Viticulture and Wine Production” as well as to the staff of the Unione Italiana Vini and OPERA Research Centre for the efforts they have put into the successful organization of the Congress and in the elaboration of this policy paper. We would also like to thank all the members of the Stakeholder Discussion Group for their commitment to the worksof the Congress, their proactive contributions and their spirit of compromise and dialog. The Stakeholder Discussion Groupwas constituted of around fifty highly esteemed and respected professionals (see list page 15) from all areas of the wine value chain that have been asked to fully give their input in the Congress and to interact with the speakers.

AUTHORS

ETTORE CAPRIUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore,

OPERAResearch Centre

ALLISON JORDAN Wine Instituteof California

SARAH E. LEWIS The Sustainability

Consortium

ISAK PRETORIUS Macquarie University

ATTILIO SCIENZAUniversità degli studi di Milano

ALEXANDRU MARCHIS

OPERA Research Centre

STEFANO STEFANUCCI

Unione Italiana Vini

NATASHA WALKER International

Communication and Facilitation

CECIL CAMILLERI Yalumba Wine

Company

3

Sustainability is a word for all seasons. Although sustainability projects have been operating in wine regions around the world

for many years and internationally accepted sustainable winegrowing principles exist, a clear and collective definition is still far from being broadly understood and agreed upon; debates are held concerning sustainable consumption, sustainable development, sustainable growth, sustainable industry, sustainable agriculture, sustainable job creation, etc.

On the other hand, society expects all products to be produced using safe and sustainable means. Concerns are expressed about how the raw materials are produced, how the processing takes place, how the products are distributed and consumed. All in all, usually there is a high interest in how responsible we are in respect of the environment or how much importance we attach to social aspects. At an industry level, but also at a global economic level, we also have to pay attention to the economic sustainability of the activities.

Policy makers have followed this trend up to a certain level and have started to include objectives related to sustainability in political strategies. However, there is little guidance or clarity about how to achieve such objectives. In an environment developing globally and providing for increasing flexibility in terms of trade and competition, it is essential to develop a common understanding of the sustainability concept, not only to ensure positive effects on global society but to ensure that consumers, and ultimately the whole of society considers credible the efforts of the industry to become sustainable.

The first big question is: what is the correct definition of sustainable viticulture and enology? Does a model of environmental, social and economic sustainability exist?

I think we all have a different interpretation of sustainable production and consumption in various regions of the world. I also think that up to a certain level, this is not only perfectly acceptable but also desirable because the economic, social and environmental objectives and challenges

are not identical. However, we need to find that common denominator that would give the much needed direction and guidance to the process of developing a global sustainability concept.

After we surpass this theoretical barrier of defining a sustainable approach, I think we also need to seriously interrogate how much is reasonably achievable and what is a reasonable time frame. And this raises another important question: to what extent do the concepts of sustainability take into account the involvement of all the stakeholders in the sector? For the past 20 years it has been the policy push that has driven the “development” of business towards sustainability. The global economic environment has changed, and now it is the wine trade that should definitely provide its input into the process.

Without the involvement of industry there is no ownership of the process. If we fail to identify opportunities for our businesses in developing a sustainable approach, and we continue to see sustainability as a series of rules and regulations or barriers, there cannot be a successful implementation. Sustainability is a concept that needs to be deeply considered: it is a moral imperative. But we need to work on it with the aim of providing innovation and improvement in the field, and of establishing objective criteria to guide (and to measure) the sustainable development of enterprises.

This Congress on sustainability, that constituted the basis for this paper, was organized to promote the sharing of theoretical and applied research provided by various members of the value chain, such as wine companies, institutions, suppliers of products and services, the scientific community, the trade unions, etc., with the aim of developing a common understanding of the building blocks of sustainability.

The goal of this policy document is to gather all the relevant aspects related to the “pillars” of sustainability; and base its content on a well-defined logic and analysis taking into account balanced and pragmatic views of all stakeholders so as to identify areas of agreement on the concepts.

FOREWORD

Domenico Zonin

President of Unione Italiana Vini

4

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

At the 2005 World Summit on Social Development it was generally ac-cepted that sustainability involves

the reconciliation of economic, social and environmental objectives, which consti-tute the three pillars of sustainability.

On the environmental side, public poli-cies have been put in place to address the various pressures generated by human activity on the environment. This follows a general societal concern about the way the human race is managing resources and the capacity of the environment to compensate for those impacts and recover on the long term.

To support this process consumers and society in general, are demanding ac-tion from various industries to become more sustainable. Such demands cover the whole wine value chain, from primary production to processing; packaging; distribution and consumption. Consum-ers are expressing increasing interest in

the social aspects associated with pro-duction, such as child labour; fair trade; employee safety and health, the rural economy, and the conservation of cultur-al heritage. At the same time, economic sustainability is the sine-qua-non condi-tion to realize all the other objectives.

International organizations and govern-ments have commenced working on vari-ous aspects of sustainability, addressing the issues holistically. Their efforts as well as the efforts of industry at individual, na-tional or regional level do not yet benefit from a high level of coordination. How-ever, a common denominator is emerg-ing: the majority of the sustainability ap-proaches around the world, generated by industry or by organizations, gives equal importance to the environmental, social and economic aspects. On the other hand it is also apparent, that the majority of the solutions have up to now been only concerned with environmental aspects.

The diversity of approaches and interests hamper the ability of the wine sector to pool resources and knowledge to elabo-rate and promote the best solutions for the sustainability of the value chain. Lack of harmonization in approaches and pri-orities makes difficult the communication between various actors and, more impor-tantly, it makes impossible the commu-nication with policy makers and society, including the wine consumers.

Innovation in wine production that leads to the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and to the mitigation of climate change, can generate growth opportunities for the winegrowing sector, ranging from the creation of new prod-ucts, the development of new markets for products and services (i.e. tourism; recreational services), to actions to pro-vide public goods (water quality, carbon sequestration, biodiversity preservation, landscape management, etc.).

Sustainable wine production not only has the benefit of complying with consumer demands, but also contributes to raising the industry’s profile. Arguably, sustain-able wine brands have an enhanced com-petitive advantage on the international market.

In the vineyard sector we need to clearly identify the economic, social and envi-

ronmental gains that can be made from the adoption of sustainable practices in order to provide winegrowers with the incentive to invest time, effort and re-sources in innovative solutions and sus-tainability measures. The challenge to achieve sustainable competitive advan-tage is to balance an economically viable wine sector with environmental perfor-mance that makes a positive impact on society.

Currently the integration of the three pil-lars of sustainability in the evaluation methodologies suffers from the difficul-ties of evaluating and expressing in com-parable formats aspects of ecosystem services that vary in importance accord-ing to the local context; examples include biodiversity; landscape management; hu-man wellbeing; and cultural heritage.

What appears to be evident when look-ing at the metrics systems developed for measuring sustainability is that one sin-gle indicator or the focus on one single factor influencing sustainability will not produce a realistic picture.

Hence, sustainability is a process that continuously seeks to ethically allocate scarce resources amongst competing so-cial, economic and environmental needs by using the best available knowledge with due diligence and duty of care and, in particular, without compromising the life options of present and future genera-tions.

To improve in sustainability the general objective should be to use the best avail-able professional knowledge and scien-tific research to help viticulture, wine production, wine marketing and wine consumption to better balance the envi-ronmental, social and economic aspects.

Public policies play a crucial role in es-tablishing a climate conducive to the development and implementation of strategies for a sustainable wine sec-tor. In turn, the various members of the sector’s value chain will step-up their ef-forts if the right commercial environment is provided and the right messages are received from society as a whole. There-fore, this policy paper formulates a series of policy recommendations meant to en-courage the sustainable development of the global wine community.

5

Even if the term sustainability has been used for some decades there still remains considerable confusion on the meaning of it. However, at the 2005 World Summit on Social Development which followed up on the Millennium

Development Goals, it was generally accepted that sustainability involves the reconciliation of economic, social and environmental objectives, which constitute the three pillars of sustainability.

On the environmental side, public policies have been put in place to address the various pressures generated by human activity on the environment. This follows a general societal concern about the way humans are managing resources and the capacity of the environment to compensate for those impacts and recover on the long term. Policies have been developed to address specific issues like biodiversity, water quality and use, soil conservation, air pollution.

At a European level, institutions have increased concern about the loss of biodiversity, and this is broadly demonstrated by a wide range of legislative or policy initiatives. For example, protecting and enhancing biodiversity is a priority for the EU, and a first target to reach was fixed for the year 2010 in the Action Plan for Biodiversity of 2006. Failing to reach that target, recently, a new target and commitment was adopted, in order to stop the loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem services’ degradation by 2020, intensifying at the same time the EU contribution to protect biodiversity worldwide. Safeguarding biodiversity is also part of the Europe 2020 strategy: when assessing the necessity of a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, goals are also established for biodiversity as well as for a better use of natural resources.

Equally, other governments and international institutions like OECD, for example, have expressed the willingness to address issues related to the biodiversity loss. At international level various regions of the world have their own approach on protecting biodiversity; however the International Convention for Biological Diversity has established a common denominator for its members and promoted a series of common goals and approaches. The vision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 is that: “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.”

Despite its cultural and socio-economic value, agriculture – including vineyards – is often perceived to contribute to the deterioration of the environment. For example, poor soil management practices tend to increase the likelihood of soil erosion causing permanent loss of arable land, and excessive use of fresh water resources for irrigation is said to reduce the availability of water for other sectors. Biodiversity is often a subject of concern in relation to modern agriculture due to areas of monoculture or due to certain agricultural practices.

Scientists and politicians propose changes in land and water management practices to improve European agro-environments. This feeds the public

debate on the importance of sustainable crop production and thus shapes the overall understanding Europeans have of the agricultural sector. The changes proposed

and adopted to the EU Common Agricultural Policy will drive partly this change with hopefully positive effects on

environment.

To support this process consumers, and society in general, are demanding action from various industries to become more

sustainable. Such demands cover the whole wine value chain, from primary production to processing; packaging; distribution and consumption. Hence, the industry has started to develop a

number of projects and initiatives to address such concerns. We can identify initiatives to evaluate and reduce carbon footprint, water footprint, rationalization of the impact of distribution,

DRIVERS FOR SUSTAINABILITYIN VITICULTURE

AND WINE PRODUCTION

01

DRIVERS FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN VITICULTURE AND WINE PRODUCTION6

as well as initiatives to improve primary production practices. Solutions are promoted to implement practices to avoid soil erosion, nutrient cycling, reduced inputs, water pollution, etc.

While currently the policy push seems to be more focused on issues related to protection and enhancement of biodiversity, at least in the EU, the consumer pull covers a broader range, including concerns regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in the production process, and the impact on climate change.

Social sustainability also needs to be accounted for. If public policies are addressing the issue in more general terms, covering general objectives for growth and jobs, consumer demand for sustainable products

is more specific on some issues. Consumers are expressing increasing interest in the social aspects associated with production, such as child labour, fair trade, employee safety and health, the rural economy, and the conservation of cultural heritage.

At the same time, economic sustainability is the sine-qua-non condition to realize all the other objectives. Actors in the wine value chain cannot invest in improving their activities if economic returns are not sufficient and the continuation of their activity is not ensured.

Although the consumer demand for sustainability is a powerful incentive for the sector, there is a dichotomy between consumer demands and consumer action. Despite the growing interest of consumers on the availability of sustainably produced food and drink, there is a slow growth in the quantity of sustainably certified food products entering the market. Some of this is claimed to be caused by difficulties in the distribution chain. But much of it is due to the fact that there has been change in consumer attitude but not in consumer behaviour; for example, consumers tend to make purchase decisions on product price and brand rather than on aspects of sustainability.

Therefore, whilst there is an overall positive change in consumer attitude towards sustainable farming and food production in general, there is also a lack of clear communication and interaction with consumers to bring actual changes in their purchasing behaviour. Sustainable agriculture and food production remains an unclear concept and consumers do not always believe the sustainability claims made by food and drink producers. In this context, it is most important to achieve a better integration of food and drink value chains to allow for more transparency along this chain and to implement smart communication strategies.

7

STATEOF THE ART

IN WINE SUSTAINABILITY

02

The International Congress: Sustainable Viticulture and Wine

Production has been designed to be highly interactive and to

stimulate inputs from all categories of stakeholders participating. The

Stakeholder Discussion Group (SDG) included around 50 experts of the wine value chain as well as academics and policy makers with

relevant background and experience. Using interactive technology

they provided in real time to the participants their opinions of the main issues, structured around a

number of key questions. The results presented in the charts below were

generated in this process.

1 Resolutions: Env: 2008 CST 1/2008,2011 VITI 422-2011, 2012: ECO 460-2012

International organizations and governments have commenced working on various aspects of sustainability, addressing the issues holistically. Their efforts as well as the efforts of industry at individual, national or regional level do not yet benefit

from a high level of coordination. However, a common denominator is emerging: the majority of the sustainability approaches around the world, generated by industry or by organizations, gives equal importance to the environmental, social and economic aspects. On the other hand it is also apparent, that the majority of efforts in providing solutions have up to now been directed towards the environmental aspects of production.

The FAO had the initiative to develop the “Save and grow” program addressed mainly at primary production level and issues related to the sustainable use of natural resources. The key elements of this sustainability program are: building on ecosystem services; more efficient use of inputs; conserving & enhancing natural resources; promoting useful agro-biodiversity; balancing human benefits.

The FAO vision of sustainable agricultural production system is founded on the integration of the three dimensions of sustainability, with a special focus on the issue of managing trade-offs: environmental and economic. The concept promoted in this context is that sustainability is a dynamic process of continuously balancing various aspects of improving ecosystem services.

The OIV adopted a holistic approach to sustainability, taking into account environmental, social and economic aspects (see Resolution CST 1/2004 of OIV on the definition of sustainability). The activities to develop this concept in concrete recommendations for the sector1 have been lately focused on environmental aspects, producing guidelines for environmentally sustainable production and elements of organic production. The OIV has also started to work to include socio-economic aspects, to develop a harmonized approach that takes into account various concerns expressed by its member states, and always keeping in mind the protection of consumers and the transparency towards them.

Industry initiatives play a crucial role since these are mainly generated by consumer requirements and are very much anchored in the realities of the wine value chain. In Europe, we can see that there is a wide spread of initiatives at the industry level with a plethora of focus areas, and various methodologies and approaches. Some examples of projects developed by the industry associations in various states include: in France, the CO2 calculator for wine and spirits; in Spain the project Wineries for Climate Change addresses specific topics as CO2, energy efficiency, water management; in Italy, we find initiatives as Tergeo project, VIVA etc.

STATE OF THE ART IN WINE SUSTAINABILITY8

Fig 2. Percentage of the SDG members appreciating on a scale from 1 to 9the need to act on sustainability issues

HOW URGENT DO YOU THINK IS IT TO INCREASETHE SUSTAINABILITYOF VITICULTURE AND WINE PRODUCTION?

Not urgentat all

Veryurgent

0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0%

1

22%

92 3 4 5

4,9%

6

9,8%

7

17,1%

8

46,3

There was a strong call for actionsfrom the participants

in the Congress to step upthe efforts to find solutions to improve

the sustainabilityof the wine value chain

The diversity of approaches and interests hamper the ability of the wine sector to pool resources and knowledge to elaborate and promote the best solutions for the sustainability of the value chain. Lack of harmonization in approaches and priorities makes difficult the communication between various actors in the value chain and, more importantly, it makes impossible the communication with policy makers and society, including the wine consumers.

Fig 1. Percentage of the SDG members appreciating sustainabilityin the wine sector on a scale from 1 to 9

HOW SUSTAINABLE IS OUR CURRENTPRACTICE?

Not sustainableat all

Verysustainable

0,0%

1

0,0%

92

6,1%

3

6,1%

4

21,2%

5

24,2%

6

15,2%

7

15,2%

8

12,1%

When participants in the SDGwere asked to rate their perception

on the sustainability of the wine sector, 60% of respondents placed their rating

in the middle range (4 to 6),indicating the general perception that

the wine sector has already made stepsin improving its sustainability but there

are areas where further effortsare needed

9

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

03

WE’RE SITTING TOGETHER IN 2023 - WHICH DEVELOPMENTIN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF VITICULTUREAND WINE PRODUCTION ARE YOU MOSTPROUD OF?

1. Better water useand waste management

2. More energy efficiency

3. Effective monitoring and accounting

4. Strong value chain

5. Dialogue culture with stakeholders

6. Employee health and wellbeing

7. Biodiversity protectionand ecosystems management

8. Healty consumption

9. Strong regional identificationwith winegrowing areas

17,1%

14,6%

2,4%

4,9%

17,1%

2,4%

24,4%

9,8%

7,3%

Stakeholder representativesin the Congress indicated several

areas where opportunitiesfor improvements

in sustainability exist

Increasing productivity; better use of water and soil; enhancing biodiversity; improving energy efficiency; and safeguarding against production losses from pests and diseases are objectives which can be delivered through stronger cooperation in the implementation of innovative production techniques and technologies. However the development and successful implementation of such solutions also needs the support of strong partnerships along the value chain.

Sustainable wine production not only has the benefit of complying with consumer demands, but also contributes to raising the profile of and differentiating certain products thereby enhancing their competitiveness on the international market.

Such developments in primary production can be successfully integrated further in the value chain with additional efforts to reduce emissions and water use, improve energy efficiency, optimise distribution, encourage sustainable consumption or waste management. Developing partnerships along the value chain will also ensure that there a fair distribution of benefits gained from the uptake of sustainable practices.

Furthermore, at the processing and distribution level, an investment in sustainable solutions can provide economic benefits, (as long as consumers are prepared to pay for sustainable products), as well as will enhance positive perception on the sector and would contribute to better business environment by promoting self-regulation as opposed to top-down standards, legislation and regulations.

At the vineyard level there is an important role not only to ensure quality and to produce according to market needs, but also to prevent environmental degradation and mitigate climate change. Winegrowers act as the custodians of

agricultural lands and most of them need access to innovative technology to deliver cost efficient management of natural resources.

Opportunities

Innovation in wine production that leads to the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and to the mitigation of climate change, can generate growth opportunities for the winegrowing sector, ranging from the creation of new products, the development of new markets for products and services (i.e. touristism; recreational services), to actions to provide public goods (water quality, carbon sequestration, biodiversity preservation, landscape management, etc.).

Fig. 3. SDG ranking objectives in wine sustainability for the next decade

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Fig. 5. Ranking the success factors to achieverecognition of sustainability practices

Challenges

In the vineyard sector we need to clearly identify the economic, social and environmental gains that can be made from the adoption of sustainable practices in order to provide winegrowers with the incentive to invest time, effort and resources in innovative solutions and sustainability measures. The challenge to achieve sustainable competitive advantage is to balance an economically viable wine sector with environmental performance that makes a positive impact on society.

To find the right technical solutions we need to keep in mind the general objective of linking competitiveness with environmental targets, and to materialize the opportunities generated by the sustainability approach. Importantly, locally specific solutions can only be developed in partnership with all salient stakeholders.

Fig. 4. SDG ranking of the recognition that the sector receives on its sustainability implementation efforts

ON A SCALE OF 1-9:HOW RECOGNISED IS OUR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICEAS A SECTOR?

OF THE FOLLOWING: WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SUCCESS FACTOR TO ACHIEVE RECOGNITIONFOR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE IN VITICULTUREAND WINE PRODUCTION?

1. Champions from industry,society and politics

2. Monitoring and transparency

3. Supportive policy framework

4. Active deliberationwith critical stakeholders

5. Valid science base

6. Certification

7. Advertising

8. International collaborationamongst the wine industry

9. Consumer education

5,1%

10,3%

5,1%

5,1%

20,5%

5,1%

2,6%

12,8%

33,3%Notrecognised

Highlyrecognised

2,3%

1 2

11,4%

3

18,2%

4

13,6%

5

18,2%

6

15,9%

7

18,2%

0,0%

8 9

2,3%

Policy frameworks need to be open and flexible enough to support and recognize such solutions. There is a need to provide for an environment where technological progress becomes possible. Innovation and research need to play a bigger role in wine production and policy needs to provide the instruments to stimulate these activities. Research and development activities need to be supported and, coordinated.

In order to communicate the sustainability efforts and to achieve recognition by society for the efforts put in place there is a strong need to build a system to evaluate the results achieved in the course of the implementation and to communicate these to the public. Such systems should aim to create a common understanding of the main elements of sustainability, and to provide efficient indicators to measure progress towards a common goal.

The role of research to provide a solid basis for the solutions meant to address sustainability issues cannot be overstated. The needs of different actors in the value

10

11

HOW DO WE MEASURE AND COMMUNICATE

SUSTAINABILITY?

04 Scientists, experts and stakeholders agree and support the notion that sustainability is not only about preserving or enhancing the environment, or the use of natural resources. It includes economic and social aspects. The fine

dynamic balance between these three pillars is what defines a sustainable approach. The sustainability concept includes approaches like organic or biodynamic production; however these are not the only models of sustainability.

Currently the integration of the three pillars of sustainability in the evaluation methodologies suffers from the difficulties of evaluating and expressing in comparable formats aspects of ecosystem services that vary in importance according to the local context; examples include biodiversity; landscape management; human wellbeing; and cultural heritage.

The discussion about measuring sustainability starts with framing the scope of the assessment. In other words, should the evaluation of sustainability be process-based or product-based? The answer is that both approaches have been trialled and both have advantages and disadvantages.

What appears to be evident when looking at the metrics systems developed for measuring sustainability is that one single indicator, or the focus on one single factor influencing sustainability, will not produce a realistic picture.

Process-based assessments (i.e. Life Cycle Assessments) can usually be complemented with performance metrics to provide a clearer picture and to capture all important

aspects of sustainability. If for example the impact on natural resources can be captured through the assessment of the processes employed in the production process, the social and economic aspects need to benefit from an approach based on performance assessment to be able to provide an indication of the evolution.

Using one approach or another has various costs and benefits for the process or the product that is being evaluated:

To generate as much as possible advantages while minimizing the disadvantages one possible solution is to generate an approach that would combine a process evaluation with a product evaluation so as to ensure maximum of characterization of the efforts implemented by a company or organization in generating products that respond to sustainability criteria.

Processbased

Productbased

Cost Economic Expensive

Certification Possible Possible

Use of results on the label No Yes

Complex integration of different aspects of sustainability

Easy Difficult

Transparency of how indicators are calculated

Yes Yes

Easy to implement Yes No

chain need to be aligned with research activities so as to achieve a vertical coordination that generates sound and pragmatic solutions. Horizontally, at the regional and global level, there is a need to achieve a certain level of common understanding of the challenges and potential approaches that need to be explored further.

Clarity and a certain level of standardisation in the sustainability requirements will benefit the actors in the wine value chain since they would able to focus their resources and efforts on the key drivers of sustainability. Equally, consumers will have a better understanding of the benchmarks, evaluations and sustainability claims through improved communication with the various members of the value chain. Scientifically-based approaches that are culturally sensitive and clearly communicated are the foundations of sustainable development.

HOW DO WE MEASURE AND COMMUNICATE SUSTAINABILITY12

HOW CONFIDENTARE YOU THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO MEASURE SUSTAINABILITY SUCCESSFULLYIN 5 YEARS TIME?

1. Not at all confident

2. Not that confident

3. Fairly confident

4. Very confident

10%

20%

55%

15%

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE WE CURRENTLY IN THE WAY WE MEASURE SUSTAINABILITY?

Notsuccessful at all

Verysuccessful

1 2

13,9%

3

22,2%

4

27,8%

5

11,1%

6

22,2%

7

2,8%0,0%0,0% 0,0%

8 9

Fig.7. SFG opinion on the prospects of developing better methodologiesin the next 5 years.

One major difficulty in developing the metrics for sustainability is that changing the approach or the methodology generates results that are not comparable. This contributes substantially to confusing consumers and stakeholders alike, generating a barrier in establishing common goals for sustainability and collaborating in achieving such goals.

In our vision sustainability should be seen as a continuous process and not as an end goal. The process of continuously balancing the environmental, social and economic impacts of a process to produce and consume a product, evaluated with a transparent methodology, with the aim of continuously improving that balance and having in mind the various ecosystem services that are generated is what defines a sustainable approach.

Hence, sustainability is a process that continuously seeks to ethically allocate scarce resources amongst competing social, economic and environmental needs by using the best available knowledge with due diligence and duty of care and, in particular, without compromising the life options of present and future generations.

The point needs to be made that no single method or indictor will provide a global assessment of sustainability. In any case an evaluation methodology would need to include a process of consensus-through-negotiation to reach a mutually agreeable trade-off between competing social, environmental and economic needs. The final decision will be value-laden, politically motivated and imperfect. However, transparency of the methods used would provide the basis for the decision to be ethical and morally sound.

Fig. 6. SDG appreciating the success of current methodologies in accurately measuring sustainability

13

HOW DOWE IMPROVE?

05 To improve in sustainability the general objective should be to use the best available professional knowledge and scientific research to help viticulture, wine production, marketing and consumption to better balance the environmental,

social and economic aspects.

To improve environmental aspects, research and innovation activities should provide solutions to address the various stakeholder concerns that are locally specific and which may include, but are not limited to, issues associated with water, soil, biodiversity and GHG emissions. Multi-disciplinary collaboration and cross fertilization have the potential of creating such solutions.

Just as example, a scientific and accurate choice of the rootstock or of growing system can effectively help to avoid use of irrigation, enhance resistance to climate change, improve resilience to pests and diseases, etc. But, such a decision may have social and economic implications: the use of rootstocks will inflict a heavy economic burden on the grower (they are several fold more expensive than a rootling) and will definitely impact the local terroir and therefore the perceived quality of the wine. Appropriate choice of technology and production conditions for wine can contribute to enhance natural antioxidants in wine, increase durability of wine, natural substitution of sulphites and other antioxidants. These are examples of how innovation and technology can help to gain sustainability.

Collaboration with partners in the wine value chain, including input industries, can create the potential of producing solutions to protect biodiversity by developing adequate protocols or good agricultural practices. Balancing cultural, biological, mechanical and chemical methods in an integrated pest management strategy will provide sustainability benefits. Appropriate choice of production practice, i.e. by managing the use of the area between rows, has the potential of better protecting and enhancing soil properties with less erosion impact and better carbon fixation as well as retention of water and prevention of run-off.

The important role of wine growers as land managers and entrepreneurs must not be overlooked. Social aspects like wellbeing, health and opportunities for a better life should be equally important for sustainability. The public policies should develop the business environment, regulatory aspects and collaboration within the wine value chain in such a way that creates equal opportunities and stimulates investment in sustainable practices while ensuring conditions for competitiveness on local and world market.

Public goods and services created and provided by sustainable practices, such as multi-functional landscape management, generate new opportunities for the communities where the activity is performed. Examples of diversification of activities, especially by integrating touristic activities for example, are many and they have been proving beneficial for the community and generating value added for the society.

Return on investments in sustainability would ensure that the economic criteria are met. If enterprises are not able to see business opportunities from working on sustainability aspects, we can be sure that there will be no commitment for the process and the risk of “green wash” and fraudulent practices rises. Ensuring that all partners identify economic gains from the process will stimulate buying in and will generate long term commitments to allocate resources and capital to improve the sustainability performance of their activity.

14

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

06Public policies play a crucial role in establishing a climate conducive to the

development and implementation of strategies for a sustainable wine sector. In turn, the various members of the sectors’ value chain will step-up their efforts

if the right commercial environment is provided and the right messages are received from society as a whole. Therefore, the following recommendations are offered to encourage the sustainable development of the global wine community:

The global wine industry must clearly articulate its aim to make a positive contribution to social, environmental and economic wellbeing at the local, domestic and international level. Stakeholder collaboration and consultation, as distinct from competition and self-interest, is essential. Top-down approaches and over-regulation have a deterrent effect on the sector and does not stimulate long term commitment to sustainability objectives.

A clear definition of the constitutive pillars of sustainability would much improve dialog along the wine value chain, fostering collaboration and joint efforts from the producers all the way to the final consumers.

Stimulating research and co-innovation provides the much needed tools to drive the sector into changes that bring more sustainable approaches.

Existing knowledge needs to be disseminated on a large scale and new technical solutions need to be provided to the end users in a timely fashion. Hence, training and education are essential to ensure that all players in the wine value chain have the tools to become sustainable. Consumer education is equally important since sustainability approaches need to be recognized, valued and rewarded.

Sustainability cannot be achieved by addressing only some aspects or stages in the life cycle of a product. An integrated approach is essential to manage all the pressures and benefits from the providers of goods and services all the way to the wine consumer.

Social aspects and economics of sustainability should be given equal consideration with environmental issues. Environmental concerns need to be addressed with appropriate pragmatic tools.

Research should be further supported and coordinated in developing methodologies for comprehensive and transparent measurement of sustainability.

Sustainability claims, certification systems and labels should be guided by a clear and transparent strategy to avoid proliferation and abuse which can only lead to uncertainty for the consumers and for the wine sector.

Public policies should create opportunities for diversification based on the concepts of public goods or ecosystem services to stimulate the wine sector to invest in solutions providing long term benefits for society.

Policies need to provide the necessary incentives and support for the implementation of sustainability solutions, while maintaining the drive for quality and excellence in the sector.

15

WHICH RECOMMENDATION WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEND TO POLICY MAKERS MOST URGENTLY?

1. Attend stakeholder meetings encourage research technicalassistance and information sharing

2. Support innovation invest in stewardship and sustainability

3. Develop and adopt standards in the value chain.Avoid top-down legislation

4. Harmonize the sustainability indicators

5. Create encouraging and inspirational integrated guidelinesusing current knowledge

6. Policy framework to create incentives for the sector

7. Encourage cooperation and avoid proliferationof sustainability labels

8. Encourage self regulation combining consumer educationand innovative sustainability as part of quality measures

5,4%

10,8%

10,8%

10,8%

18,9%

8,1%

16,2%

18,9%

Fig. 8. Recommendations to policy makers ranked by the SDG.

Participants representingall stakeholder groups have

proposed the following urgent messages to the policy makers as

a result of the two daysof debates in the International

Congress: Sustainable Viticulture and Wine Production

Collaboration and cross-fertilisation including sectors like information and communications technology (ICT) or satellite use, which traditionally were not involved in the wine value chain is essential in developing sound, pragmatic and sustainable production, processing and consuming solutions. The policy framework needs to be flexible enough to stimulate and recognize such partnerships. Continuous dialog among stakeholders and facilitation of dialog with consumers are pre-requisites for choosing the approach that would provide sustainable benefits to the society.

Fernando Chivite Lopez (Plataforma Tecnologia del Vino), Will McClatchey (Botanic Research Institute of Texas),Chris Chilton (Botanic Research Institute of Texas), Michael Delle Selve (FE.VE), Scott Curwood (Treasury Wine Estate),Luca Toninato (AGER), Allison Jordan (Wine Institute of California), Christopher Savage (FIVS), Aurora Abad (CEEV-Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins), Steve Smit (Constellation Wines), Eugenio Pomarici (Università degli Studi di NapoliFederico II), Lucrezia Lamastra (Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore Piacenza), Osvaldo Failla (Università degli Studi di Milano), Julien Blanc (Carbone4), Joel Rochard (Institute de la Vite et du Vin), Jeremy Dyson (European Crop Protection), Christy Slay (The Sustainability Consortium), Roger Boulton (University of California-Davis), Francesca Bignami (Copa.Cogeca),Jacques Roussow (Distell), Daniele Tirelli (IULM University), Alison Hodder (FAO), Riccardo Vecchio (Università degli Studidi Napoli Federico II), David Zambrana (CIRCE-Centro de investigación de recursos y consumos energéticos), Gianni Trioli (Vinidea), Stefano Santamato (DNV) Pieter Ravaglia (Agroinnova - Centro di Competenza Università di Torino), Elena Bonelli (F.lli Bonelli), Mariadonata Bancher (Agenzia Casaclima), Tito Caffi (Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore Piacenza), Fabio Mencarelli (Università della Tuscia), Marco Tonni (Studio Sa.Ta), Leonardo Valenti (Università degli Studi di Milano), Christian Scrinzi (Gruppo Italiano Vini), Giovanni Rizzotti (Unione Italiana Vini), Federico Castellucci (OIV), Luigi Bavaresco (CRA VIT), Michele Crivellaro (Valoritalia), Angelo Cichelli (Università Chieti-Pescara), Franz G. Rosner (Lehr-und Forschungszentrum für Wein-und Obstbau), Niccolò Barberani (Assoenologi), Francesco Arrigoni (World Biodiversity Association Onlus), Miriam Bisagni (Piacecibosano), Roberto Miravalle (Consorzio tutela Vini Colli Piacentini), Costanza Fregoni (Tecniche Nuove), Milena Lambri (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Mario Pezzotti (Università di Verona), Francesco Iacono (Arcipelago Muratori),Isak Pretorius (Macquarie University), Cecil Camilleri (Yalumba Wine Company).

STUDENTS SOUNDING BOARDChiara Corbo, Leonardo Pini, Andrea Maffini, Paolo Beccari, Marco Galbignani, Federico Ferrari, Michaela Stan, Federica Bove (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Matteo Ivaldi, Francesca Bresciani (Università degli Studi di Milano)

STAKEHOLDER DISCUSSION GROUP (SPEAKERS, STAKEHOLDERS)