How did the project originate?
Chile’s wine industry, converged in Vinos de Chile, determined the need for a more in-depth approach to sustainability. The Consorcios, as the association’s technical branch, responded to this need by designing a program that includes a series of initiatives.
In the wine industry, sustainability is understood as the convergence of production processes that are environmentally friendly, socially equitable, and economically viable.
The program includes establishing a Sustainability Code accompanied by specific projects to address key areas of sustainability in depth.
One project was developed to address the key area of Social Responsibility and includes two main objectives:
Publish the Vinos de Chile Guide to Preparing GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Reports, using an internationally recognized methodology that will attest to the organization’s comprehensive performance.
Prepare GRI Reports for all Vinos de Chile wineries using a series of Third Generation of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Indicators.
Who is implementing the project?
The project was launched by Vinos de Chile A.G. and will be coordinated by its technical branch, the Consorcios del Vino (Vinnova – TecnoVid) in collaboration with technical experts Vincular PUCV, who will train the winery members, to prepare GRI – G3 Reports.
Importance of the Project
The Swedish market recently announced that as of 2012 all suppliers doing business with companies in which the Swedish government has an interest must ensure the transparency of their environmental and social traceability.
This means that it is in the best interest of Chilean wineries that wish to continue selling their products in Sweden and properly comply with this requirement to make their environmental, social and economic performance public through reports that follow the GRI methodology.
Sweden’s announcement presents a great opportunity for the Chilean wine industry as a whole to anticipate such demands and display its commitment to sustainability and therefore to socially responsible management.
How is the project being implemented?
The Project to introduce GRI reporting among all wineries associated with Vinos de Chile will be implemented by working groups composed of representatives of various wineries, with the assistance of expert consultants of Vincular PUCV, who will train staff to prepare these reports over an 18-month period.
The program to transfer this knowledge and train different winery representatives will be carried out in the winegrowing valleys of regions IV to VII through eight 4-hour work sessions held once every two weeks.
Consorcios del Vino will be responsible for establishing the working groups, which will include representatives from each winery and the respective Vincular PUCV consultants.
During the working sessions, participants will receive detailed information about preparing the reports, including environmental aspects, all four categories of social aspects (labor practices, human rights, society, and products); and economic and financial aspects in accordance with the GRI G3 Methodology.
Project objective
We hope that all of the Vinos de Chile A.G member wineries, regardless of their size and target markets, will prepare GRI reports for their performance in 2009, and for those that are more advanced, for 2010 as well. This will enable these companies to fulfill the Swedish market requirements and will set them apart in other markets as well. The reports will also serve as a management tool for continuous improvement.
Project Impact
The goal of Vinos de Chile A.G. is for this initiative to become a conduit through which the good practices reported—both industry-wide and at the individual member-winery level—will be used as management tools and differentiation and thereby help it to retain its current markets, open new ones, and make Chile an international benchmark for sustainable wine production.
Program Timeframes
The project will run from August 2010 to December 2011 and take place in the country’s winegrowing valleys.
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