Diageo recognized for green efforts

Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines announces that three of its facilities have been named winners in the Waste Reduction Awards Program by the state, in recognition of the company’s green efforts.

Beaulieu Vineyard has been the recipient of the prestigious WRAP award 16 times and this year Sterling Vineyards and the DC&E Sonoma Bottling Facility have also joined the list of winners.
“It is very important for us to constantly identify ways to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment,” said Tom Scott, vice president of communications for DC&E.

During the 2007 calendar year, Beaulieu Vineyard recycled 3,458 tons of material, diverting from the waste stream such itesm as wood barrels, pallets, grape lees and pomace, glass, cardboard, metals and paper.
Sterling Vineyards kept nearly 1,200 tons of solid waste from going to landfill through organized waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting efforts, including sending out 815 tons of grape stems and pomace to a local composting facility and shipping out nearly 1,000 barrels for reuse. The winery also recycled 180 tons of material, earning more than $4,500; 100 percent of the earnings were donated to local charities.

The Sonoma bottling facility recycled about 264,000 pounds of material including glass, wood pallets and various packaging materials. Sonoma made improvements to its recycling program this year by adding a cork-recycling program, resulting in more than 3,060 pounds of cork collected. In addition, the site saw $10,000 in energy savings by installing energy efficient lighting.