K-J Sustainability Team’s 100th Post!
Welcome to the Sustainability Department’s 100th blog entry!
Our vision of sustainability as “A Better Way to Make Great Wine” has lead us to several fantastic accomplishments over the years, such as:
- 2013 Green Company of the Year Award from the drinks business in London
- 2011 EPA Green Power Leadership Award
- $2.5 million in annual cost savings from energy and water conservation
- GHG reductions of 27,000 tons of CO2 per year
- A research and development program that has helped develop an innovative water recycling technology and a VOC capture system
- The largest rooftop solar cogeneration (electricity and hot water) system in the country
- The only LEED Gold certified refrigerated warehouse in the country
- Over 10,000 acres of vineyards certified under both Sustainability in Practice (SIP) and the California Certified Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) certification
It’s a nice anniversary of sorts for us, and coincides with some big changes here at Kendall-Jackson in the past few weeks. Kendall-Jackson is very committed to moving the ball forward on sustainability so let’s meet the new Sustainability team!
Introductions
My name is Justin Lee, Sustainability Program Manager here at Kendall-Jackson. I have been working with the program for the last three years, and am now overseeing our program development, certifications, and pilot projects. I am excited to carry on this great tradition of innovation, and you’ll hear a lot more from me over the next few months.
Katie Jackson continues to represent the Jackson family in the Sustainability Department, with a special focus on land use, regulations and developing relationships with local governments and NGOs in the counties where we operate. Her personal interest in sustainability continues to grow, and she reminds us daily that the work we are doing now will have impacts on the lands, wines and people of Kendall-Jackson for years to come.
Julien Gervreau, Sustainability Project Manager, is the newest addition to the team. Julien has a Sustainability MBA from the Presidio Graduate School, and joins Kendall-Jackson from Clos Du Bois where he was working on conservation and efficiency projects. He will be focused on implementing the water and energy conservation that has been a cornerstone of our program from the beginning.
Also, we have a new Sustainability and Government Affairs Intern Sabrina Sihakom. Sabrina just completed her junior year at Sonoma State University where she is a Environmental Studies and Planning major. Right now she is focused on our SIP and CCSW vineyard certifications, but she will also be joining us on contributing to the blog.
We have some great new projects in the works, and can’t wait to talk about what we have been up to these last few months. Let’s keep working on finding better ways to make great wine!
