Implementing environmental management at the ground level

Abstract

Implementing environmental management at the ground level

Summary

The aim of this project was to raise the awareness of environmental issues and to improve the environmental performance of vineyards in the Goulburn Valley region through the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS). A secondary aim was to provide practical on-ground feedback to the CRCV Viticare EMS project.

The community benefits of this EMS project are that we are the first region in Australia to implement EMS’s into vineyards. Our EMS process is based on ISO14000, so the environmental management systems adopted by vineyards in the region will be recognised inter- nationally. We are also the first region to utilise the draft CRCV tool for assessing vineyard aspects and impacts. This provides practical feedback for the CRCV Viticare project, as well as practical on-ground grower input for the development of EMS in Australia.

On a regional level, the EMS helped to raise the awareness of regulatory environmental issues faced by vineyards in our community. On two occasions, the Goulburn Valley Wine Association (GVWA) was informed of the progress of the development of EMS’s in vineyards and the environmental issues relevant to their region. On the final vineyard walk, members from the GVWA attended the walk through and learnt about the importance of EMS. Regional issues were identified in the vineyard walk-throughs and then draft action plans were implemented to reduce environmental risks as well as ensuring compliance with government legislation.

As a group, the vineyard managers realised the need to improve their environmental awareness and compliance. All participating vineyards were taken through a first cycle of the EMS process, over the six-month period. During the EMS process, the vineyard walks proved the most valuable component, as they highlighted the most significant environmental issues in a practical and readily understood manner, whilst increasing the vineyard manager’s knowledge of their entire business operation.

Due to the importance of this leading work, the next stage should focus on full implementation of the EMS’s and vineyard manager auditor training. We propose to undertake this training with specialist consultants who are experts in groundwater management and occupational health and safety. This work is imperative, so that vineyard managers can audit each other’s vineyards without the need for consultants. This approach will strengthen the sustainability of the EMS’s developed in the second phase. This auditing work has proved highly successful in New Zealand, where four vineyards have recently become accredited as the first group in the world to become ISO14001 certified for EMS.