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Sustainable Winegrowing Australia
Building a more sustainable, resilient and competitive Australian wine sector
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia is the Australian wine sector’s national sustainability program. It helps grapegrowers and winemakers understand, demonstrate and continually improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of their businesses.
A national approach to sustainability
Sustainability is increasingly important to the long-term success of grape and wine businesses. Retailers, restaurants and consumers are looking for wines that meet contemporary sustainability standards, while producers need practical ways to manage resources, understand their performance and plan for the future.
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia provides a consistent national framework for doing this. Rather than focusing on a single environmental issue, the program considers sustainability across the vineyard, winery and wine business, bringing environmental, social and economic considerations together.
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia is administered by the Australian Wine Research Institute, with governance, endorsement and active support from Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia. The program is modelled on global best practice and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
This national approach provides a common framework through which individual businesses can improve their own practices while contributing to the broader sustainability credentials of Australian wine.
Integrating Sustainable Winegrowing Australia into your business
Watch this informative webinar providing the latest sustainability insights for the Australian wine industry. Each segment is tailored to provide valuable, actionable information to help advance the sustainability journey of Australian grape and wine producers.
Why Sustainable Winegrowing Australia matters
Australia's grape and wine community shares responsibility for protecting the resources, landscapes and communities on which wine production depends. A nationally consistent approach also gives businesses a way to demonstrate their sustainability credentials to customers and consumers.
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia supports this by giving producers a structured way to measure their performance, identify opportunities for improvement and track progress over time. The program also enables benchmarking and contributes information that can help identify priorities for wine-sector research, development and extension.
For the sector collectively, participation helps strengthen the sustainability credentials of Australian wine and provides a common framework through which those credentials can be demonstrated.
What are the benefits of joining?
Membership is designed to be useful whether a business is starting to formalise its sustainability practices or is ready to pursue independent certification.
Members annually report relevant business metrics and complete a vineyard and/or winery self-assessment workbook. This creates a structured way to examine current practices and identify areas where the business can improve.
Members can access individual, customisable benchmarking reports, allowing businesses to compare their performance with peers and use evidence to support planning and continuous improvement.
The program provides benchmarking tools and resources that support planning, evaluation, control and communication. Its environmental, social and economic approach encourages businesses to consider sustainability as part of how they operate rather than as a separate activity.
The program is designed to foster stronger relationships between growers and wineries. A common sustainability framework can also provide greater confidence to customers seeking reliably accredited produce in response to growing global demand.
Businesses that progress to certification undergo an independent third-party audit. Certification provides independent verification of sustainability claims and gives eligible businesses access to the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certified trust mark, providing assurance about how the product has been produced.
Certified members can benefit from international marketing opportunities through Wine Australia's marketing events and programs, while their sustainability stories can also be incorporated into Wine Australia education and content for customers and consumers.
Membership or certification: what's the difference?
Businesses can participate as members and then choose whether to progress to certification.
Members annually report business metrics and complete the relevant self-assessment workbook. Independent auditing is not required simply to be a member.
Certified members maintain their membership and undertake independent third-party auditing against the program's certification requirements. The audit takes place once every three years.
This provides a pathway that allows businesses to begin measuring and improving their sustainability performance before deciding to seek independent certification.
Who can join?
Membership is available to Australian wine grapegrowers and wine producers, with membership types for vineyards, wineries and wine businesses. Separate memberships are required because different parts of the supply chain provide different business data.
The program is designed to be flexible enough to support producers with different needs and at different stages of their sustainability journey.
Start your sustainability journey
Joining Sustainable Winegrowing Australia gives your business practical tools to understand its sustainability performance, benchmark progress and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. It also provides a pathway to independent certification for businesses that want their sustainability credentials formally verified.