sustainable wine
From vine to glass, we support the industry to have positive environmental and social impacts.
The UK is a relatively young cool-climate wine sector and many of our vineyards have been planted as the climate has been changing. It means that from the outset we have been mindful of the impact of the climate emergency, considering the adoption of sustainable techniques in many of our vineyards.
Over half (52%) of WineGB producer members have used the free WineGB Carbon Calculator
9 in 10 (91%) prioritise sustainable vineyard floor management by using cover crops, animal integration, avoidance of herbicides where possible, avoidance of tilling and reduced mowing.
Nearly 2/3 of wineries responding to the survey use renewable energy to at least partly power their operations.
WineGB’s 5 steps to help members’ sustainability programmes
Insights: Informed with live policy updates and monthly business-focused news summaries.
Toolkits: Provision of toolkits with best practices to support sustainable business strategy.
Calculate your carbon: Use of WineGB’s free Carbon Calculator to measure, reduce and share the environmental impact in vineyards and wineries.
Benchmark: An annual Impact Report to benchmark the business against the rest of the industry. Ability to gain specific targeted feedback.
Consumer proof: The Sustainable Wines of Great Britain scheme, our audited certification. The easiest way to showcase the sustainable credentials to customers and colleagues.
Sustainable Wines of Great Britain
SWGB is our independently audited certification.
Founded in 2020, over 43% of UK annual bottle production is already certified by the scheme.
The scheme is modelled to bring authority, assurance and credibility to the way in which sustainability is measured and observed in the wine industry of Great Britain. It evaluates the work of vineyards and wineries, supporting the measurement and reduction of carbon. The scheme’s Carbon Calculator enables SWGB members to calculate the number of tonnes of CO2 generated per hectare of vineyard and/or per bottle of wine produced.
In the vineyard the SWGB Scheme includes standards regarding: soil health, biodiversity and carbon footprint. In the winery it captures waste water disposal, energy use and winery design.
The SWGB award is the easiest way that members showcase their sustainability action to customers and colleagues. ‘Just look for the green grapes’.
Toolkits
Our free and open access toolkit was gifted by WineGB to help the whole sector when the law changed, so that businesses have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This sits along with our People Support hub which provides signposting to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the wine industry. These are practical actions to welcome a more inclusive sector and so important that we provide these to anyone in the sector.
Benchmarking
The annual Sustainability Impact Report allows members to benchmark themselves against the rest of the industry, and for the sector to track the collective activity of the industry.
Sustainability in winegb – a year in review
Read the 2025 reflection on sustainability in wineGB.
To learn more about any aspect of WineGB’s sustainability programmes, or to get more involved and join SWGB, contact us now.