Articles
Benchmarking energy and water efficiency in New Zealand wine production: eco-verification and incentivising improvement using the New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard
Article number
1112_55
Pages
411 – 418
Language
English
Abstract
The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard online assessment and reporting tool, incorporates annual scorecard records of energy and water use by Sustainable Winegrowing NZ members.
Use of the energy and water-efficiency metrics to improve eco-efficiency (and verify the industryRSQUOs environmental credentials for consumers, regulators and policy makers) requires careful selection of benchmarking criteria.
Improved performance by individual viticulturists and wine makers can best be incentivised by comparing energy and water use metrics between vineyards and wineries that are tightly matched for operation size, variety, region, climate, and soil type.
However, the eco-efficiency concerns of some consumers impose comparisons at more global and national scale that trump the local challenges faced by individual grape growers and wine makers.
Devising energy and water-use efficiency metrics is relatively straightforward, but setting amber and red alert thresholds when intervention is required is more difficult.
The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard takes a whole enterprise approach to monitoring performance, because the individually owned and operated vineyard or winery is considered to be the key site of action for sustainability.
This production enterprise focus moves from driving change down through the industry, to bottom up.
It is grounded in the practical realities of making outstanding New Zealand wine in a sustainable way.
Use of the energy and water-efficiency metrics to improve eco-efficiency (and verify the industryRSQUOs environmental credentials for consumers, regulators and policy makers) requires careful selection of benchmarking criteria.
Improved performance by individual viticulturists and wine makers can best be incentivised by comparing energy and water use metrics between vineyards and wineries that are tightly matched for operation size, variety, region, climate, and soil type.
However, the eco-efficiency concerns of some consumers impose comparisons at more global and national scale that trump the local challenges faced by individual grape growers and wine makers.
Devising energy and water-use efficiency metrics is relatively straightforward, but setting amber and red alert thresholds when intervention is required is more difficult.
The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard takes a whole enterprise approach to monitoring performance, because the individually owned and operated vineyard or winery is considered to be the key site of action for sustainability.
This production enterprise focus moves from driving change down through the industry, to bottom up.
It is grounded in the practical realities of making outstanding New Zealand wine in a sustainable way.
Authors
A.J. Barber, J. Manhire, V. Gasso-Tortajada, F. Oudshoorn, C. Sørensen, H. Moller
Keywords
tuned benchmarking, thresholds, individualised reports, infographics
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