Environmental initiatives in South African wineries: a comparison between small and large wineries

Abstract

This paper reports on an interview-based survey of small and large wineries, which considered the perceptions and experiences of both ISO 14001 and an industry specific initiative, called the Integrated Production of Wine scheme (IPW). Large wineries have not yet implemented ISO 14001 but several intend to in future. Small wineries had a poor knowledge of ISO 14001 and believed that ISO management systems (i) are not required by the niche markets they sell to, (ii) require resources that they do not have and (iii) are unsuitable for their informal management style. Although wineries do face market-related environmental pressure, especially those that export to large supermarkets, there is as yet no pressure to introduce ISO 14001. The majority of wineries are members of the IPW scheme and are willing to make the changes required by it. IPW needs effective systems for monitoring and for removing non-complying wineries if the system is to improve environmental performance throughout the industry and achieve credibility amongst stakeholders. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.