SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP PILLAR: Waste Prevention & Green Purchasing

Waste

Prevention

Waste Prevention & Green Purchasing

Unfortunately, wine cannot flow directly from the barrel to your glass. It takes a lot of materials and packaging to get that elegant wine bottle to your table. Just like at home, we want to make sure wineries and vineyards are recycling and composting everything they can. Napa Green connects members with local recycling companies to get them free staff trainings, signs, and bins to ensure glass, cardboard, plastic wrap, corks, landscaping, food waste all get recycled or composted into another purpose. The goal is over 75% diversion – meaning less than 25% of “waste” ends up in the landfill.

Wineries have significant purchasing power, and Napa Green works with members to help them green their supply chain and shift to environmentally preferable products. One hot topic right now is how to Lighten Up! Bigger and heavier bottles do not mean better wine, but they do cost more, weigh more, and take up more space, which increases shipments and emissions that contribute to climate change. Currently, only 25-30% of glass bottles get recycled in the U.S. There are new initiatives like The Good Goods and Conscious Container working on bottle takeback, cleaning and return – bringing bottles full circle.

Here are some examples of how sustainable wineries and vineyards prevent waste and buy “green”:

Use washable glasses and dishware in the tasting room and at events
Eliminate the use of Styrofoam, which is almost never recycled, lasts forever, and leaches toxic materials
Use shipping materials made from recycled content, which can be recycled or composted
Shift over to Elegant Light or even Wild glass, which has the significant added benefit of reducing the winery’s carbon footprint
Buy green, low-toxicity and biodegradable cleaning products
Buy copy/printer paper and janitorial products with Post-Consumer recycled content
Eliminate the use of bottled water, which has a huge carbon footprint, is often less healthy, and the low-grade plastic is rarely recycled, ending up on our streets and in our oceans
Use natural cork, which comes from infinitely renewable cork trees, and can be recycled into soles, purses and more

Spottswoode winery Story

Our whole team is deeply committed to leading by example. We are certified organic & biodynamic, Napa Green Winery & Vineyard, B Corp, and most recently we became the first TRUE Zero Waste Gold-certified estate winery in Napa County. We reuse, recycle or compost 95% of our “waste” - only 5% goes to landfill. Our industry doesn’t talk much about waste, but on average, 30-50% of winery emissions come from packaging and distribution. That’s why we consider the full supply chain. We have shifted towards recycled content and recycle-friendly packaging. We are decreasing the weight of our Cabernet Sauvignon bottles by 30%. This reduces material use, glass cost, shipment weight, emissions, and post-consumer waste. Did you know that only 30% of glass is recycled? Glass is infinitely recyclable - we just have to build awareness. We are facing a climate crisis, and Spottswoode is taking bold steps to prove that environmental and social leadership are compatible with the highest quality and contribute to a resilient business.

- BETH NOVAK MILLIKEN, President & CEO, Spottswoode Winery