Recently, many industries have joined the green movement by moving their operations to more sustainable options.
The wine industry is no exception. Many wineries all across the world have begun to implement various changes to become more environmentally friendly. If you are looking for opportunities to integrate more sustainable winery practices into your winery’s daily operations, consider some of the following green initiatives. Many of them are cost effective and easy and will help establish a culture of sustainability within your organization, as well as among your customers.
Recycling Packaging and Manufacturing Materials
Though many wineries already use sources of sustainable materials within their packaging and manufacturing, several key materials utilized within everyday winery operations face specific challenges to go green. Starting a cork recycling initiative is just one of the ways to cultivate another sustainable practice while saving in operational costs.
Cork is exceedingly rare to come by, as it can only be harvested every 9 to 12 years in natural forms. Nearly every bottle of wine uses a cork as the stopper, so a significant supply is needed to keep the industry flowing. This is one reason why many wineries are leading initiatives to recycle corks. Some corks can be recovered in reusable conditions as they sustain relatively little damage and retain their shape when removed from bottles.
Many customers see wine corks from bottles as collectibles. This significantly decreases the chances of a customer throwing all of their wine bottle corks away. Depending upon how your winery currently bottles wine, it may be possible to implement a new sustainability initiative focused on engaging customers and convincing them to reuse or recycle those corks. This is a good way to get customers engaged with the winemaking process and may even encourage them to stop by your winery more often to drop off the corks.
Corporate Giving Programs
If you cannot start a cork recycling program because of how your existing manufacturing process works, consider adopting another environmentally friendly program into your sales process. Some wineries are utilizing other sustainability initiatives like Trinity Oaks Wines’s One Bottle One Tree program. This program plants a tree for every bottle sold. Similar initiatives aimed at promoting environmental causes while pushing profits, such as using less expensive cardboard boxes instead of bottles, have helped the wine industry advance both global sales and sustainability initiatives to all of its customers.
Some major wineries have begun supporting activities, including Earth Day and Earth Month, in order to raise awareness of global environmental issues. These wineries have been able to incorporate more sustainable practices into their operations that, in many cases, have helped drive sales through increased customer support and brand recognition.
Learning about the types of programs and initiatives other wineries support is a good way to evaluate the different ways you can increase your winery’s sustainability. Sometimes, the sustainable way is not only good for the environment, but is also good at decreasing costs, increasing sales, and developing brand awareness with customers.
