Abstract
PurposeThe present research expands the debate on environmental sustainability in the wine industry. Since the literature on sustainability and wine is relatively recent, current results do not cover all the practices that can be implemented along the wine supply chain. Thus, the paper presents a classification of environmental practices specific for the wine industry, according to the increased attention that has been paid to this topic in recent years. Moreover, it investigates the adoption level of these practices with reference to Italian wine producers.Design/methodology/approachThe research presents a systematic literature review including papers published in academic journals during the past 30 years and in Italian specialised magazines. This methodology is useful to provide a clear overview of sustainable practices that can be adopted along the wine supply chain. Therefore, an empirical study based on the results of an online survey shows how wineries approach environmental sustainability.FindingsThe literature review provides a definition and classification of environmental practices in the wine industry, as well as identification of those that require further attention in the literature, suggesting future research paths. The results of the online survey give an overview of the adoption level of environmental practices and highlight widespread attention to all the listed environmental practices, including those not adopted.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical point of view, this paper fills a literature gap in terms of the definition and classification of environmental practices that cover all wine supply chain processes, also providing a useful instrument for wine companies' managers. Moreover, the results of the empirical research give an overview of the adoption level of environmental practices in one of the most relevant countries in terms of wine production and highlight widespread attention to all the listed environmental practices, including those not adopted.
Highlights
In recent years, the global wine industry has becoming increasingly important, and today it constitutes one of the most significant industries in countries such as Italy, where it stands as a symbol of outstanding quality
Findings and analysis 3.1 Environmental practices framework Starting from the evidences highlighted through the review of academic and industry journals, this section reports the results related to RQ1 A set of practices that wine companies can implement are listed and some examples of their implementation in real contexts are provided
The second dimension shows the primary beneficiaries related to the adoption of environmental practices and deals with the lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodology, where each practice has been classified according to its impact on air, water, plants and soil and landscape and society
Summary
The global wine industry has becoming increasingly important, and today it constitutes one of the most significant industries in countries such as Italy (the biggest wine producer in the world), where it stands as a symbol of outstanding quality. Before the 1970s, wine production and consumption were primarily concentrated in Europe. The market has been opened to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. The wine market has reached China, which follows the previous path of the US in developing a promising domestic market. The geographic expansion has pushed the market towards wide diversification in terms of products and packages, with bulk wine and packages other than glass bottles. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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