VIVA Program

The VIVA program, created by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security during 2011, is aimed at improving the sustainability of the Italian wine industry. To this end, it has proposed to establish different sustainable metrics, easy to measure for producers and easy to understand for consumers. 

In the case of consumers, the VIVA system is clear, and is based on four fundamental aspects of wine sustainability: Air, Water, Vineyard and Environment. These indicators allow the consumer to be informed not only of the wine's origin, but also of its environmental impact. 

On the other hand, this system also allows consumers to detect which aspects can be improved to be more sustainable. This is due to the fact that each indicator was elaborated following the highest international standards, in addition to the design of "Improvement Plans" by the VIVA program.

Over the past years, hundreds of companies have joined the program. Currently, there are 173 vineyards, of which 15 are cooperatives, and 10,502 winemaking companies.

Some of the actions developed by VIVA to improve sustainability in Italian viticulture are:

• Measuring the results of the environmental impact on the wine supply chain, through indicators grouped into Air, Water, Vineyard and Environment.
• Develop measures to increase wine sustainability in all phases of the production cycle.
• Communicate clearly and transparently to the final consumer about the environmental impact of the practices used to produce a given wine, through a digital label.
• Collaborate with various wine programs that also use the VIVA sustainability measurement indicators.
• Train technicians and consultants on sustainable principles and the application of VIVA indicators, thus encouraging more jobs within the sustainable viticulture sector.