From the Roundtable: How can we compare sustainability standards?

By Hanna Halmari

There are over 40 wine sustainability standards around the world. This is understandable given the fact that sustainability in wine is so context dependent. It’s also incredibly confusing. With so much variability, how can you assess how these certifications and standards compare against each other?

This is where the SWR ‘Global Reference Framework’ (GRF) comes in. As the first global statement of what sustainability means in the wine sector, the GRF is a tool which will enable transparent benchmarking of wine sustainability standards around the world.

A pilot benchmarking of 6 standards is currently underway, with the aim to test the applicability of the GRF and the scoring matrix. In this short podcast Toby Webb, founder and executive director of the SWR, and director of research and standards Dr Peter Stanbury share the latest updates on the standards benchmarking project and future plans.

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About the author

Hanna Halmari
Editor

Hanna Halmari is the editor at Sustainable Wine and head of conferences at Innovation Forum. She specialises in research, conference production, and stakeholder engagement, helping companies tackle supply chain sustainability challenges across agriculture, manufacturing, packaging, and human rights. Hanna holds an MSc in International Development from King’s College London, where she developed a strong interest in political economy and post-communist transformation. She speaks Finnish, Bulgarian, and English, and enjoys travelling and discovering new wines.