Sustainability as competitive advantage. A framework for analyzing corporate impacts in wineries.

Over the past decades the concept of sustainability has become one of businesses’ most pressing need. Sustainability includes not only environmental liability, as respect to the natural environment, but it’s a broader concept that applies the entirety of the business global role and development. For several years it has spread to goal in long-term profitability. Governments, consumers, investors, stakeholders all…they have been asking for companies to adopt “good citizenship”. However the new challenge in the future is to achieve success turning this “minimalist approach” that refers the “ good citizenship” to the observance of the law, into a “strategic approach” that takes it into account as a company’s business strategy. Essentially, sustainability is just about business’s ability to survive and thrive over the long term. The concept of sustainability is derived from the notion of sustainable development, which is a way to use resource aimed to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present but also for future generation. The relationship between business and the environment is so deep, that it should be seen as integral and essential part of its strategic planning to become a real management’s attribute. This is true for all types of companies: international companies, SME, family-business, farm, public utility, winery,… The main aim of this article is to offer a work in progress about an economic framework to analyze managerial effects of sustainability development in winery sector, focused above all in value creation, communication and corporate reputation. Discussions of sustainability means innovative investments that generate results in medium long-term, for future generation. Sustainable agriculture to feed a growing population is one of the world’s critical challenges. In smaller scale farms, such as vineyard, a key research question is how to achieve consistent, optimised yields to minimise artficial system inputs and environmental damage.