Detailed Show Notes:

Definition of sustainability for agriculture has 6 pillars, now expanding to 7

• 1. Water efficiency
• 2. Energy efficiency
• 3. Waste prevention and green purchasing
• 4. Integrated pest management and biodiversity
• 5. Social equity, diversity, and inclusion
• 6. Climate action and regenerative agriculture
• 7. Communications and engagement

Napa Green

• 1 of 4 programs nationwide that have sustainability certification for vineyards and wineries
• Addresses all parts of sustainability vs. 1 issue (most programs are only environmental; e.g., organic only for vineyards and not using synthetic pesticides)
• ~15 programs globally that address sustainability holistically
• Boots on the ground for direct support achieve more action
• 90 wineries, 15k acres in the program
• Policy vs. boots on the ground give very different perspectives
• Certification requires >120 standards for wineries and >100 for vineyards

Economics of sustainability

• Myth: sustainability will cost a lot of money -> it can actually help save money
• Money-saving examples: 
• Variable frequency drives for energy efficiency, 1-3 year payback
• Turn down the water heater temp when you don’t need it super hot – save thousands on water and energy bills
• Chateau Montelena – used Tooley Technologies for real-time data on water needs on an underperforming vineyard, saved $0.5-1M in improving the vineyard w/in a few years; phased out wooden boxes for wine to branded cardboard, reducing shipments from 5 to 2 (less space and weight), cut materials cost 50%, cut emissions, reduced wine breakage
• ~50% of members have solar, but people don’t notice when inverters go down and don’t fix it until they see a high electric bill, it could save tens of thousands through monitoring and maintenance
• Cakebread – focused on reducing waste, bought Big Belly solar trash compactors reducing trash pickups, saved ~$30k in first 3 years
• Areas of opportunity: vineyards – develop a custom carbon farm plan (e.g., cover crop, compost, biodiversity, etc.), lays out how much carbon can be stored; compost is a big bang for the buck for carbon and water storage and nutrients; winery – water usage, including energy to transport, heat, and treat water, new regulations around wastewater also need consideration
• ~30-50% of emissions from packaging and distribution

Best practice: think systematically, from vineyards to winery to getting wine to consumers; members often think of one-off projects vs. looking at the entire landscape

Marketing sustainability

• Hosts ambassador training to get people talking about it
• Potentially $1-3/bottle premium for organic/sustainable wines
• Wineries are often willing to pay a premium to buy sustainably grown grapes

Napa Thrives – symposium w/ Martin Reyes MW

• Goal is to accelerate the pace of sustainability and climate action