Green wines win sustainability award

Yealands Estate has been awarded Most Sustainable Medium Business at the International Green Awards. The Marlborough winery was the only winery - and the only New Zealand company - to be recognised at the awards.

The Most Sustainable Medium Business category is open to enterprises with total revenues of $10 to $100 million. The award was judged on two main criteria: demonstration of long-term visionary thinking and environmental best practice to create value; and strong ethos and demonstrated environmental credentials throughout all of its sustainability elements.

“Yealands Estate continually strives to improve our sustainable practices,” said Peter Yealands, founder of Yealands Estate. “For us, sustainability is about using resources in a smarter way, which guarantees future supply and our profitability.

“We’re conscious that our commitment needs to be tangible; being green is an integral part of who we are, and for us it is essential to producing world-class wines.”

Yealands Estate received carboNZero^Cert certification in 2009, becoming the largest NZ winery to achieve this status. The winery (and vineyard) is also accredited under Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and was recently announced the international runner-up for the Green Company of the Year category in the Drinks Business 2012 Green Awards.

“The New Zealand Wine industry is committed to sustainable wine production and it’s a great endorsement that one of our producers has been recognised on the international stage,” said New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan.