SAN FRANCISCO — CSWA was recognized with the Sustainability Award of the Year by The Drinks Business, an industry trade publication based in Europe. According to the publication, its judges lauded CSWA in the generic organization category for achievements in gaining broad program participation by the state's wineries and vineyards. They also recognized CSWA's "constant process of review and improvement, as well as the transparency of its reporting."
The Drinks Business Green Awards, in their fourth year, noted that the green agenda is increasingly important in the wine industry and that judges faced a challenge based on the quality and quantity of entries and the thorough, often imaginative commitment to sustainability. California featured prominently in the awards receiving recognition for both its statewide sustainability initiative and for the efforts of individual companies.
CSWA was also recognized for using innovative techniques, such as an online workbook that allows vintners and growers to track their sustainability performance over time, and a video series highlighting case studies on energy efficiency and other practices which encourage wineries to learn from their peers. Also highlighted were the group’s educational initiatives delivered at over 230 workshops on sustainable practices attended by nearly 11,000 growers and winemakers.
"We're very pleased to receive this international recognition of our program by The Drinks Business," said Allison Jordan, executive director of CSWA. She noted that CSWA's program recently marked its first decade with publication of a 2012 Progress Report and the third edition of the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Workbook and release of a new Performance Metrics tool for measuring vineyard and winery use of water, energy and applied nitrogen, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in 2003 by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers. CSWA's mission is to ensure that the California wine community is recognized globally as the leader in sustainable winegrowing in the marketplace and public policy arena through the development and promotion of sustainable practices, tools for education and outreach, partnerships with key stakeholders, and prioritizing research.
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