Sustainability Pioneer Creates Day for Employees to Give Back to Communities
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif., May 17, 2018 — Employees from Fetzer Vineyards, the historic California vintner known for its sustainable practices and awarded wines, took part in the winery’s paid volunteer day, Force for Good Day, on Tuesday, May 15. 133 employees volunteered with six organizations in Mendocino and Sonoma counties; grooming community gardens, preparing and serving meals, maintaining trails, picking up trash, assisting with ecological research and cleaning up the Russian River. The initiative reflects Fetzer Vineyards’ focus on enhancing environment, community and worker well-being, a multi-faceted approach to business inspired by the B Corp movement—whose mantra is to use business as a force for good.
As the world’s largest winery certified as a B Corp, Fetzer Vineyards is committed to taking bold steps to be a part of the movement redefining responsible business. Numbering more than 2,100 businesses around the world, B Corps meet rigorous standards for the environment, communities and workers. Force for Good Day embodies this comprehensive approach to operations and underscores Fetzer Vineyards’ commitment to creating a positive corporate footprint through a variety of activities including giving back to the natural environment and communities.
On Force for Good Day, Fetzer Vineyards’ Chief Operating Officer Cindy DeVries joined employees volunteering at Plowshares, a community dining hall in Ukiah serving over 69,000 meals each year to those in need.
“Our team of employees was able to complete a long list of projects both indoors and outdoors for Plowshares. Together, we made a large impact by providing support in serving meals, mowing lawns, weed eating, washing windows and pulling weeds in the vegetable garden,” DeVries said. “With Force for Good Day, our goal is to have a positive effect on our communities. We ceased operations in Hopland and Healdsburg for the day, which allowed us to make a greater impact across both Mendocino and Sonoma counties.”
The Results
Though Fetzer Vineyards has been supporting local communities for 50 years, Force for Good Day marks a key milestone as the winery looks to get their employees more engaged in the community. On Force for Good Day, employees came together to give back in the following ways:
- Gardening for Good: 44 employees got their hands dirty building, weeding and planting in Ukiah community gardens alongside North Coast Opportunities Garden Project.
- Feeding those in Need: 40 Fetzer Vineyards employees prepared and served meals, lending a helping hand to Plowshares and Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB); organizations working to feed the hungry. During the REFB shift, volunteers packed 480 senior boxes and sorted 7,000 pounds of carrots. All together, this is equivalent to 17,833 meals for members of the community struggling with food insecurity.
- Preserving Trails: 13 volunteers worked to clean up and maintain local trails in inland Mendocino County alongside the Ukiah Valley Trail Group.
- Ecological Research in the North Coast: 15 volunteers assisted with ecological research on climate change and invasive species through the Hopland Research and Extension Center.
- Protecting the Watershed: 21 employees engaged with the Clean River Alliance to clean up an area of the Russian River south of Hopland.
- Total Hours Worked: 665 hours were spent volunteering on May 15.
Fetzer Vineyards is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018. Force for Good Day comes at an exciting time for the winery, which recently released its first sustainability report, Road to Regeneration, and was recognized by the United Nations with a Momentum for Change award for its pacesetting sustainability practices. For more on Force for Good Day, see the 2018 Force for Good Day infographic at http://bit.ly/ForceforGoodDay.
About Fetzer Vineyards
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, Fetzer Vineyards is an award-winning purveyor of wines from sustainable, organic and biodynamic grapes. In addition to the flagship Fetzer label, the winery crafts the leading wine from organic grapes, Bonterra Organic Vineyards. Other offerings include Adorada, Anthony’s Hill, Jekel Vineyards, Sanctuary Wines and 1000 Stories, as well as imports Cono Sur and Viña Maipo. Fetzer Vineyards exports its wines worldwide and recently entered the wine and spirits category by forging a partnership with Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. to sell its historic, craft rye whiskey.
