Project number:
SAGWRI AZ 23-01
Project title:
Grape4Green: A systematic review to evaluate circularity in the grape and wine industry and identify prospects and strategies
Project leader:
Dr A. Zietsman
Institution:
South African Grape and Wine Research Institute, Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University
Start date:
2023
Project description:
Circular economy draws on the understanding of natural systems where components are not lost, or created from raw materials, but instead transformed without waste. The grape and wine industries are not achieving the full circularity potential for a sustainable and resilient CE due to a lack of a mutual understanding of the concept, its barriers and enablers, lack of metrics for measuring performance at different levels (e.g., micro, meso & macro), lack of an implementation framework aligning with sustainable development goals, and lack of coordination among the key stakeholders in the value chain. There is more value that can be gained from the CE if it is systematically and strategically implemented to bring about innovations and business models that are transformative to the whole value chain. The South African Grape and Wine Research Institute (SAGWRI) aims to coordinate a network of experts to conduct a scoping study on the state of the circular economy (CE) in the SA Grape and Wine Industry, to formulate a clear understanding of the concept and to identify barriers that prevent us from moving towards this sustainability goal.