I was at my local Aveda hair salon recently and spotted this shelf advertisement – touting not their product, but their packaging. Kudos to Aveda for making packaging sustainability part of their overall brand message! Coincidentally, we SPC staff have been talking around the office about the importance of brandowners telling their packaging sustainability story in a highly visible way as part of a good brand story. Has anyone seen other brands do something similar?
“What we’ve really tried to do here is produce great wine, which is something we are not willing to compromise on but do it slightly differently…” – Simon Back
The National Academy of Sciences expects climate change to shift wine producing regions over the next 40 years. While vineyards like Backsberg Estate in South Africa seek to prevent and mitigate some of these impacts, a red Bordeaux or a Napa Chardonnay may eventually be a thing of the past.
Backsberg Estate is South Africa’s first carbon neutral vineyard. As Living on Earth recently reported, Backsberg’s goal is to continue producing great wine, with a few adaptations. To reach this goal, Backsberg conducted a carbon audit on farming and winemaking activities. Some of their activities include planting trees for carbon sequestration, diversifying crops, and producing biodiesel on-site.
This climate shift could be bad news for my hometown of Charlottesville, VA. As part of the Monticello American Viticultural Area, local vineyards draw tourists and locals alike. Not only do we enjoy our Viogniers, but concerts and gatherings at local vineyards are a way of life. I wonder how our local varietals and wineries will be impacted?
There are many ways to get a point across. Many of us prefer a subtle approach that might include storytelling or dropping hints. Others like a more “in your face” approach, banging us over the head with a message in a way even the most disinterested can’t ignore. Then there is the approach of the Whole Foods market in Providence, Rhode Island. The produce department took one of the boldest approaches I’ve ever seen to illustrate the critical role bees or pollinators play in our natural, human, and business ecosystems. They emptied more than half of their produce bins, reducing product availability/choice by 52% to help consumers recognize what our produce choices without bees might look like if we don’t begin to reverse the decline in the world’s bee population. It’s a shame more businesses aren’t willing to put some profits on the line like that to drive home important sustainability messages related to their business and the risks of operating without a sustainability strategy.
More than 85% of the plant species on earth require bees and other pollinators to exist, and these plants include some of the most nutritious parts of our diet.
