Advancing wine industry sustainability

MEDIA RELEASE

24 August 2007

Advancing wine industry sustainability through Standards

Standards New Zealand joins the Prime Minister in congratulating the wine industry on taking the lead to encourage sustainability amongst winegrowers, says Grant Thomas, Chief Operating Officer, Standards New Zealand.

Mr Thomas is commenting on a speech given by the Prime Minister Rt. Hon Helen Clark, at the opening of a major wine industry conference in Auckland yesterday.

The three day conference which runs from 23-25 August in Auckland, is New Zealand's major technical conference for the grape and wine industry.

'More and more businesses are recognising that adopting sustainable practices can help in obtaining a commercial advantage against competitors - the theme of this year's Winegrowers conference "Treading lightly: our sustainable footprint" reflects this growing trend', says Mr Thomas.

Environmental management Standards that promote sustainable practices are already being used in the wine industry. Martinborough-based winery, Palliser Estate was one of the first wineries in the world to adopt the international environmental management Standard ISO 14001.

For businesses such as Palliser Estate, complying with Standards such as ISO 14001 is their passport to trade, particularly when more than half their products are exported.

'Standards New Zealand is excited about the growing role of using Standards to make New Zealand businesses more sustainable and ultimately more competitive.'

Mr Thomas says, 'the Prime Minister noted in her speech that 'the Government is very keen to work with business networks on sustainability', and Standards New Zealand looks forward to continuing to make a contribution.

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