Sustainability – is it now mainstream?

I was looking at our recent blogs and I noticed that we have been remiss of late for not discussing Sustainability. And I started to wonder whether it was just my slackness that had somehow left it off the discussion agenda or possibly some other factor.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
Sustainability of our Cabernet Franc vineyard is core to Paradise Rescued

Sustainability of our Cabernet Franc vineyard is the heart of Paradise Rescued

Has Sustainability as a concept now become a mainstream activity and been adsorbed into day-to-day actions of business or community? Or has the world economic mess of the last seven years simply wiped it completely out of our conscious ‘to do” lists?

Nice sort of rhetorical question for a Sunday afternoon with a glass of Cabernet Franc perhaps? Let’s open up the chat and look at the three questions in reverse order:-

So firstly, has the world economic climate been a contributor in slowing down the rate of change towards a more sustainable future? Inevitably, I think there has been a slow down in the pace of change. This is driven by two factors: consumers in a tougher economic climate prefer to choose the lowest cost price for their purchases and secondly harder financially pressed companies have become less likely to take bigger long term value driven (also read expensive and more risky) decisions. The impact of a struggling economic world has not helped progress.

Question two: has Sustainability simply become part of the corporate and community landscape? And that every action an organisation takes now puts ‘People Planet Profit’ as their main goals? I don’t think we are there yet – by a significant margin! But I do observe that the ‘Planet’ component, ie better environmental protection, thinking and design is more active and prevalent that it was seven years ago. I still also see a huge over-emphasis on the getting the environmental bit right but not always well balanced with social and economic sustainability.

And finally is Paradise Rescued asleep at the wheel? A very resounding NO!

We continue to extend our involvement and integration of all our activity with our community. In 2014, for the first time ever, the harvest teams comprised solely local Cardan neighbours, our own team and family along with clients. We continue to look at every aspect of operation and see whether we can do it locally rather than from afar.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
The results of our organic viticulture programme evident in both the vineyard and wines.

Results of our organic viticulture programme are evident in vineyard and wine

We are always working hard on our environmental performance. At the current rate of progress, we will be officially certified as an organic wine producer at the end of 2016. The benefits of our vineyard programme are clearly evident both in the improved health of our vineyard and in the higher quality of the wines we are now making.

And as always the goal is to be economically sustainable. For a tiny high quality niche producer, this is the hardest part as we learn to develop our brand and markets as well as add new products and services to our portfolio that will generate the required income to maintain our operation.

No, I don’t think Sustainability is mainstream yet. By a long way! But the progress continues. And we do too.

Do you agree? What do you think? Post a comment back and let us know?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]