The greening of the California wine industry: Implications for regulators and industry associations

Abstract

This study surveyed the environmental practices among Californian wineries (n = 203) and winery managers' perceptions of the pressures to improve environmental performance. We examined the extent to which external pressures and internal pressures encouraged higher levels of environmental stewardship and performance. Overall, we found ongoing progress in environmental performance. This progress was being driven by the commitment of winery managers who were highly receptive to the non-regulatory approaches to promoting sustainable practices then occurring in California. We discuss how our findings support the approach taken by the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA), as well as the wine industry's Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices, of encouraging and assisting wineries to develop environmental management systems (EMSs). The Cal/EPA and the industry are driven by the conviction that EMSs can continuously improve environmental performance and promote beyond-compliance initiatives.