Sustainability is reshaping the South African wine industry, with key organisations such as Wieta, Vinimark, Spier, and South Africa Wine NPC collaborating to lead the charge. These groups are driving an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework to position South African wine as a global leader.
Sustainability is not only about environmental care; it’s about steering the South African wine industry toward ethical, inclusive, and transparent practices that build trust globally. Organisations such as the Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trading Association (Wieta), South Africa Wine NPC, Vinimark, and Spier are pivotal in this transformative journey, providing a comprehensive ESG framework that supports the entire wine value chain – from vineyard to glass.
To unpack this topic, Food For Mzansi spoke with Gerard Martin, research, development and innovation executive at South Africa Wine NPC; Siglinda Lösch, senior sustainability manager at Vinimark; Heidi Newton-King, regenerative business director at Spier; and Linda Lipparoni, CEO of Wieta.
Their insights are grounded in the recently introduced ESG Position Paper by South Africa Wine, which combines extensive industry consultation and scientific research to offer a practical roadmap.
Martin emphasises, “The initiative reflects intensive consultation across the wine value chain, incorporating the views of producers, cellars, suppliers, workers, researchers, and policy influencers.”
Benefits to producers and workers
This framework helps producers across the country, especially smaller wineries, navigate the growing global demand for accountability while fostering sustainability, inclusivity, and profitability.
The ESG framework addresses key environmental targets, such as reducing carbon footprint, zero waste to landfill, water conservation, and climate-smart farming.
Meanwhile, Lösch says, “[It] is quite an easy task in the wine industry, especially in farms because you have resources readily available.”
She explains that packaging and recycling fit naturally into this category, along with water management and climate-smart farming practices that integrate a healthy ecosystem through conservation and rehabilitation.
On the social front, it focuses on responsible consumption to inform consumers, people’s welfare, because the supply chain depends on its workers, and wine skills development.
On the other hand, governance emphasises transparency and traceability, the adoption of new technology to track wine movement, and data governance through industry platforms to enable sound decision-making.
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Leading in social standards and transparency
Lipparoni explains how social standards compare globally. “Our standards are recognised for addressing sustainability both through social and environmental assurance.
“Internationally, there is always a requirement to compare well with other international standards and both within Wieta and IPW (Integrated Production of Wine), we are consistently involved in benchmarking, which is doing independent assessments on our standards and how they actually can compare. And we compare extremely well…
“Both Wieta and Fairtrade Africa also do social traceability, so we are well ahead of what many wine industries across the globe are doing.”
Linda Lipparoni
She adds that new and ongoing whistleblowing mechanisms are emerging throughout the value chain. “As Wieta, we encourage brands to report to their buyers any human rights violations in their supply chains.”
Lipparoni also stresses the importance of keeping systems current and delivering real-time data, as buyers demand quick access to detailed information.
“Our buyers are requiring many stats at the press of a button… We need to work together in collaboration and ensure that our systems are amazing, but they need to also be credible,” she says.
This unified effort responds to increasing consumer and buyer activism.
Newton-King points out, “We are seeing a lot more local and international consumer activism around products and brands… it is proof that it is made responsibly. In this ESG space, I think we need to be able to confidently answer the requests that we are getting from the suppliers and consumers around these proof points that we care for our land and our people and the products that they are consuming from South Africa.
“They can consume with pride, knowing that these components of how we produce our wine are as important as the quality of wine that is in the bottle,” says Newton-King.
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