NZ wine industry participates in sustainability project

Media Release           
1 October 2013

New Zealand wine industry participates in national sustainability project

The wine industry is the first to trial a new national environmental, economic and social performance Dashboard system.

Led by The Agribusiness Group Ltd and funded by government and industries, the $11 million New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard project will provide a sustainability assessment and reporting tool for the primary industry sectors.

The Dashboard project will deliver tools that provide farmers and growers with crucial information on the environmental, economic and social performance of their vineyards or farms.  Information from key performance indicators will be used to improve results in areas such as energy use, nitrogen loss, carbon footprint and maintenance of biodiversity.

Sustainability is important to the New Zealand wine sector and is a key part of our brand story says Philip Manson, New Zealand Winegrowers' general manager sustainability. "It helps to produce great wines and provides assurance to our customers, and we wanted to be the first industry to test the potential of this world-leading project".

The outcome of the project will help New Zealand grape growers and wineries to improve their vineyard performance and allow them to respond more easily to international market and regulatory demands.

"Data from the Dashboard will add substance to our industry's sustainability credentials by providing measurable proofs. The days of saying 'I'm green, believe me' are gone. You have to be able to prove that you are. The indicators are practical, but they are also scientifically defensible".

A pilot trial of the system is underway with 20 vineyards and 10 wineries testing the potential of the programme. Results from the trial will be reported at the end of the year.

-ENDS-

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