The wine sector once again highlights its strong territorial roots: nearly 80% of Spanish wineries create or maintain jobs in the regions where they operate, and more than that percentage applies soil and biodiversity protection measures. All of this consolidates wine as a driver for population retention, landscape preservation, and ensuring the continuity of rural areas, according to the first 'Barometer on the Sustainability of the Wine Sector in Spain', prepared by Cajamar and the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV).
This first edition of the barometer is based on a sample of 84 wineries out of the 148 currently certified, which together represent a turnover of 2.477 billion euros. This figure accounts for around 29% of the global wine business volume in Spain, which in 2023 stood at 8.490 billion euros.
The analysis confirms broad and consistent progress in sustainability, with the highest levels of compliance in the governance pillar (84%) and the economic aspect (82%), followed by the social dimension (76%) and the environmental dimension (69%).
In governance, wineries show high organizational maturity, with consolidated frameworks for responsible management, transparency, and control. In the economic sphere, the study emphasizes that sustainability has been integrated as a strategic lever, with all participating wineries involved in sustainable innovation initiatives and sectoral collaboration networks.
In the social dimension, significant progress is observed in job creation, territorial roots, and knowledge transfer. However, the report identifies room for improvement in more demanding indicators, such as gender equality or obtaining specific labor certifications.
On the environmental level, the document concludes that the sector has evolved from general commitments to verifiable results. 100% of the analyzed wineries calculate their carbon footprint and have reduction plans; 88% have already cut their emissions, 81% have reduced water consumption, and 79% have reduced energy expenditure.
The use of renewable energies is fully widespread among the wineries in the study: all of them meet the objectives set in this field, combining self-generation with the purchase of green energy. Added to this are notable improvements in energy efficiency – 79% have managed to reduce their consumption compared to the base year – and in water management, as all wineries measure and plan their use and 81% have achieved verified reductions.
The barometer also records a very high degree of implementation of the circular economy: 98% of wineries have waste reduction plans and 73% achieve recovery rates above 90%, demonstrating the consolidation of sustainable management models.
The report also highlights a growing involvement in the protection of the natural environment. Most wineries carry out active soil and biodiversity conservation actions and opt for more sustainable viticulture practices, thus reinforcing the link between environmental sustainability and territorial care.
The president of Cajamar, Eduardo Baamonde, has pointed out that this barometer is an "instrument for diagnosis and management, built on more than 100 verified indicators, designed so that the sector knows where it stands, can clearly chart the path to where it should go, and communicate it to society and the market in a transparent and verifiable way".
For his part, the general director of the FEV, José Luis Benítez, has indicated that the report is a good example of the spirit with which the SWfCP certificate was born. "We have always had the conviction that ours is a sector that is sustainable by nature, but now we can assure it and say it loud and clear with verified data and with the endorsement given by the progress made by wineries in the last ten years through a certificate that is today a leader in the sector and enjoys very high recognition from the authorities and the main links in the wine value chain," he stressed.