Jackson Family Wines: A Sustainability Success Story

Since its award-winning debut wine release in 1982, Jackson Family Wines (JFW) has held true to the belief that it is only world-class vineyards that can produce world-class wines. In the pursuit to craft superior wines, JFW has set the bar for value-driven success not only for winemakers, but for all responsible business. As a result of its focus on corporate sustainability, JFW has become a leader in sustainable winemaking while simultaneously rising to the top of its industry as a family-owned and operated winery.

JFW’s three-pronged approach to sustainable energy–efficiency, green power purchasing, and onsite generation and storage investments–has been fundamental in its ascent to the top. Efficiency measures such as lighting and equipment retrofits have helped JFW avoid 1.6 million kWh electricity usage and 1.7 tons of emissions per year, respectively.

Green power purchasing is a cornerstone strategy of JFW’s sustainability success story. Since JFW began investing in renewable energy in 2010, the company has grown to become the #1 green power purchaser in the industry. JFW not only buys green power to cover 100% of its operations, but it also purchases green power to reduce the environmental impact of all employee home electricity use, bringing their annual green power purchase to 130% of the company’s total energy usage. Each year the company strives to set goals that drive improvement in their energy sustainability, and as a result has earned a spot in the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club.

JFW has also set an important precedent in onsite generation and storage. To date, JFW has installed over 6.3MW of solar PV systems across 8 wineries, which is the wine industry’s largest solar generation portfolio. This level of capacity sets JFW over half-way to its goal of generating 50% of energy demand using onsite solar by 2021. JFW’s innovative energy strategy was even recognized by The White House as one of the largest corporate commitments to solar energy.   In addition, JFW was one of the very first companies in America to adopt Tesla Energy’s innovative energy storage technology which reduces grid stress and energy costs.

JFW is a pinnacle example of how companies can use innovative strategies not only to meet internal sustainability goals, but also to drive business growth. JFW has been recognized for its excellence in sustainable winemaking on numerous occasions, including their recent win of the 2016 California Green Medal Award.  By adhering to its sustainable vision, JFW has risen to become both an award-winning winemaker and sustainability leader.

Is your business ready to be recognized as a sustainability leader? Reach out to us to learn about how renewable energy can be part of your strategy.