1. Agriculture Climate Action Research Network
December 2, 2019

2. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
OUTLINE
• Sustainable winegrowing
101
• History of SWBC
• SWBC in a nutshell
• Certification Standards

3. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING 101
What is it?

4. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.

5. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
Sustainable winegrowing is more
than just “environmentally-
friendly”
Yes, sustainable practices protect
soil, water, air, and critters
But, they also benefit the
profitability of the business and
the health and wellness of
employees and community

6. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
Viticulture can be sustainable without being
organic or biodynamic
e.g. sustainable winegrowing does not exclude
the use of synthetic inputs, but instead promotes
responsible & cautious consideration before
choosing most appropriate option
Sustainable winegrowing includes issues that
are not addressed in organic or biodynamic, such
as energy efficiency and human resources

7. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
HISTORY OF
SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING BC
How was it developed and who
led the charge?

8. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
PEOPLE WANT TO PASS A MEANINGFUL
LEGACY TO FUTURE GENERATIONS WHILE
BEING ECONOMICALLY VIABLE TODAY

9. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
SWBC WAS CREATED BY A TEAM OF
WINEGRAPE GROWERS, WINEMAKERS,
HOSPITALITY DIRECTORS, RESEARCHERS,
AND SUSTAINABILITY AND MARKETING
SPECIALISTS, WHO GATHERED LOCAL
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE AND
LEARNED FROM OTHER WINEGROWING
REGIONS.

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BC WINE GRAPE COUNCIL
Established in 2006 under the BC Farming &
Fisheries Act
All grape growers on mainland BC must be a
member and pay a mandatory levy of $10/ton
Levies used for research and education on
viticulture and enology

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TIMELINE
2008 – BC Wine Grape Council formed the
sustainability committee - hired consultant
2009 to 2012 – research, writing, piloting, revising
2012 to 2014 – no funding

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TIMELINE
2015 – branding, improvements to online tool and
guidebooks & assessments
2016 – five-year program plan, re-launch, build
participation, certification study, focus on energy
2017 – build participation, focus on water
2018/19 – Focus on development and launch of
Certification Program

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THE LEADERS:
SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
David Paterson Tantalus
Jonathan McLean Culmina
Gabriel Balient Okanagan College
Gary Strachan Winery Consultant
Graham O'Rourke Tightrope
Hans Buchler Parkhill
Jane Campardo Okanagan Crush Pad
Karen Gillis
Andrew Peller
Chad Douglas
Quails’ Gate
Lisa Wambold TerraLink
Mike Watson
Arterra
Pat Bowen Researcher
Pete Spencer
Env. Farm Plan
Sandra Oldfield Elysian Projects
Severine Pinte Enotecca
Kathy Malone Hillside
Zola Dore
Boho Vino

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SWBC IN A NUTSHELL

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A COMPILATION OF MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES THAT HAVE BEEN TRIED
AND FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL TO
VITICULTURE AND WINEMAKING IN
BC AND OTHER REGIONS

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SWBC HELPS TO …
PROTECT LAND, SOIL, WATER, AIR, PLANTS AND
ANIMALS
REDUCE LIABILITY AND RISK
CUT COSTS BY REDUCING INPUTS OF WATER,
ENERGY, FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES
REDUCE WASTE OUTPUTS
QUANTIFY & COMMUNICATE ACHIEVEMENTS

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SWBC OBJECTIVES
• Establish a high and verifiable standard for
sustainability and communicate industry
achievements to consumers
• Provide tools for measurement, analysis, feedback
and reporting to allow the industry to benchmark
its sustainability performance
• Provide a format for continual improvement to
ensure a viable industry
• Support program participants by providing
resources, training, and education

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PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Information management
• Website and online assessment tool
• Progress reports
• Performance metrics and templates
Sustainability education and outreach
• Guidebooks (help text)
• Fact sheets and other materials
• Workshops and other events

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PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Certification
• Design, development and implementation of certification
program
Assessment-related services
• Annual assessment and action plan workshops
• On-site assessment support

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SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING BC
SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS
FOR VINEYARDS AND WINERIES

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DEVELOPED WITH LOCAL & GLOBAL
EXPERTISE
• Sustainability Assessment (2015-2019) developed
with local expertise
• Reviewed against numerous Standards
worldwide
• And to ISEALs Standards of Good Practice
• In conjunction with Sustainable Agriculture
Network (SAN)

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OUTCOME & IMPROVEMENT BASED
Outcome-based approach to guide the transition
to a highly productive, economically viable,
environmentally sound and socially fair
agriculture.
A sound indicator framework that turn our
sustainability goals and expected outcomes into
a management tool to help operations develop
intervention strategies and allocate their
resources accordingly and efficiently.

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OUTCOME & IMPROVEMENT BASED
The SWBC Standards for Sustainable Vineyards
& Wineries were created on the premise that
sustainability is a path, not a destination.
In this light, the foundation of sustainable
production is continual improvement,
identification and pursuit of new opportunities,
mainstreaming what works, and adjusting what
does not work.

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VINEYARD GOAL AREAS
! Sustainability foundation
! Watershed Management
and Conservation
! Soil Nutrition
Management
! Integrated Pest
Management
! Irrigation Optimization
! Social Equity

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WINERY GOAL AREAS
! Sustainability foundation
! Water Efficiency &
Conservation
! Energy Efficiency and
Management
! Responsible Waste
Management
! Climate Action
! Social Equity

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STANDARD OUTLINE
• Goal Areas
• Expected Outcomes
• Indicator/Criteria
– Critical & Continuous Improvement

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VINEYARD EXAMPLE
Goal Area:
Irrigation Optimization
Expected Outcome:
Irrigation systems are managed to meet the
grapevines needs, ensure fruit quality, optimize
the use of labour and reduce the overall use of
water within the vineyard.

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VINEYARD EXAMPLE
Indicator / Criteria (examples):
• Growers install backflow prevention devices
in line before any injection equipment
• Growers identify and delineate irrigation
management zones in the vineyard
• Growers test irrigation water at least once
annually or obtain data on water quality from
their water purveyor.

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SAMPLE METRIC FOR IRRIGATION
OPTIMIZATION
• Litres of water used/ton (or
kg) of grapes produced
• All metrics are currently
under development and we
welcome your input.

30. © 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Network, Confidential & Proprietary
12
SAN$
Evalua*
on$Tool
Opera*ons’$
loca*on$map
Customize
d$
performan
ce$
checklists$$
Customized$
Report
Online/$
Offline
Customized$
baseline$form
SAN Evaluation Tool (iHub)
Features
Performance
Dashboard
Group$
mgmt.

31. © 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Network, Confidential & Proprietary
Farm&type&
Female&
Male&
Smallholde
rs&
TOTAL&FARMS&
METRICS)
Water&consump<on&
m3/ha/year&
PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD
• Can include metrics
summaries, charts and
other calculations.
• All metrics and charts
can be customized
according to the
compiled results and
the clients’ needs.
Custom dashboard to display relevant baseline information and performance results
Total&produc<on&
area&(ha)&
Labor&force&
Workers/ha&
Total&
conserva<on&
area&(ha)&
Female&
Male&
Permanent&workers& Seasonal&workers&
LABOR)FORCE)COMPOSITION)
0&
10&
20&
30&
<&15&
ha&
16&6&50&
ha&
>50&ha&
FARMS)COMPOSITION)
Farm&size&&
c&
c&
c&
Nitrogen&use&&
kg/ha/year&
Average&farm&size&
(ha)&

32. © 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Network, Confidential & Proprietary
OPERATIONS’ LOCATION MAP
Locating operations throughout the country made easy!
14
• Baseline information summaries
for each individual operation.
• Location of each operation at
different levels.
• Operation boundaries using
polygons.

33. © 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Network, Confidential & Proprietary
FARMS INDIVIDUAL DASHBOARDS
• Display
performance
history and
highlights
• Monitor progress
• Analyze trends
and patterns.
• Forecast and
manage risks.
Custom and interactive dashboards to consult farm’s performance
Average&rainfall&
Total&number&of&
plants&in&vineyard&
Total&water&for&
irriga<on&(l/season)&
Total&water/per&
plant&
Water&used&per&
unit&produced&
Total&&water&
consump<on&l/
season&
WATER)MANAGEMENT)
c&
0&
100&
200&
300&
2012& 2013& 2014& 2015& 2016& 2017& 2018&
Total&water&iriga<on/season&
(l*100)&
Total&water&per&plant&
Varia<on)in)total)water)
used/plant)and)/unit)
produced)
620&
0&
20&
Jan618& Feb618& Mar618& Apr618& May618& Jun618&
Total&water&use&varia<on&
Irriga<on&water&use&varia<on&
Rainfall&varia<on&
Varia<on)in)total)water)
used)vs)rainfall)
%&of&water&used&
for&irriga<on&

34. Inspired people growing outstanding wine.
THANK YOU
Contact Katie Pease: info@sustainablewinegrowingbc.ca