Life cycle approach in an organic wine-making firm: an Italian case-study

This paper presents a case-study concerning the progressive adoption of a Life Cycle approach by a small Italian wine-making firm. The organisation under study already demonstrated a certain sensitivity to environmental issues, which was made clear from the adoption of organic production methods. As a first step, it was introduced to Life Cycle Thinking thanks to the implementation of VerdEE, a Life-Cycle-oriented tool for the selfevaluation of environmental performance. As a consequence, the management decided to introduce innovative measures in the packaging, which have led to reduced environmental impacts. This experience has certainly enhanced management and staff awareness of the importance of making strategic choices with respect to environmental performance throughout the entire product life cycle. As a follow-up action to VerdEE application, the management decided to implement a conventional LCA in order to obtain additional information on the environmental impacts generated by the life cycle of wine and identify further potential improvements. The preliminary results of the LCA implementation are presented here.