Benziger Family Winery Case Analysis
Misty McCallie
Quality Management
March 11, 2013

Benziger Family Winery and its management team continue to make extensive leaps in the area of environmental conservation. In addition to the progress being made on Benziger’s environmental management system (EMS), the winery has also been chosen by Cal/EPA as a pilot winery to develop a template that will be consistent with ISO 14001(Silverman, Lanphar, 2003, p. 1). Matt Atkinson, Ranch Manager, and Chris Benziger, partner and National Sales Manager, must decide whether to continue development of an EMS slowly or to forcefully pursue ISO 14001 certification. To be able to answer this question, I must assess and evaluate the information provided in this case. I will start with an assessment of the EMS Gap Analysis which is a checklist consistent with ISO 14001 requirements. This checklist is in the form of questions ask such things as what is their policy, and provide documentation such as records, actions, and management review. At first glance it seems as though Benziger Family Winery leaves a lot to be desired in the way of completing these goals, but upon further inspection it is apparent that the winery has taken great steps towards completion of these goals and only need to follow through on most of the activities already begun. For instance, the communication plan, EMS documentation and writing of the SOPs have all begun but have aspects that are still in development. I believe that in order to complete these steps, effective time management will help the winery become successful in the completion of the EMS Gap Analysis. When looking at their environmental management cases and comparing them to their environmental goals I noticed that some of them coincide and others do not. For instance, Benziger has developed an environmental policy specifically stating commitments to continual improvement and further prevention of pollution. According to the EMS, the Environmental Committee is made up of current department managers; however their communication plan for analyzing environmental elements is still being developed. They have yet to implement environmental consideration across all business functions but have the ability to start up ‘responsibility matrix’ which facilitates effective environmental management across all departments. They have not complied fully with laws and regulations because there is not a formal written procedure. As stated above they have written an environmental policy to prevent pollution as well as recycling used resources effectively. Referring to consumption, they have taken steps to ensure healthy outputs for their customers such as organic grapes, Biodynamic farming, and becoming SCGBP certified based on their proactive environmental programs within their winery operations (Silverman, Lanphar, 2003, p. 3). We know their communication plan is still in development and as far as training personnel they do it to meet regulatory requirements. Managing environmental efficiency is not directly addressed in the EMS Gap Analysis; however in the company’s objectives and targets these options were listed: reduce electrical consumption, monitor water use, and minimize dependency on non-renewable electrical energy (Exhibit 40.7 Objectives and Targets for Benziger Winery and Vineyard Operations). They have developed the Vineyard Operations and Winery Operations Aspect Register to identify and evaluate environmental aspects and impacts. For example, waste plastic scored a 2, (2 being regulated and 0 not regulated) based on Exhibit 40.6 Benziger Family Winery Significant Vineyard Aspects. One of the main reasons for the development of the Committee is to report findings, continually improve policies, and communicate to the general public (the information for this was found in Exhibit 40.4 EMS Gap analysis (February, 2003) and Exhibit 40.5 Benziger Family Winery Environmental Policy). While examining this case I noticed that an extensive amount of responsibility is placed on the shoulders of the Ranch Manager, Matt Atkinson. It seems to me that if his obligations were to be spread out among the other managers they would accomplish objectives in a reasonable amount of time. Also, a very important factor here is to get all employees to understand the importance of new environmental policies and provide employees and managers with training or incentives, because ‘an effective organizational strategy must focus on diffusing environmental responsibilities throughout the organization’ (Hoffman, p. 2). It may help if environmental changes are represented as consumer demand and corporate responsibility to diffuse resistance to change. It is obvious to me that the smart choice for Matt and Chris is to pursue ISO 14001 certification. Although it may be time-consuming and the cost structure of implementing these plans are significant, the business will save money and increase product differentiation in the long run. Forty-one percent of the winery’s waste stream was recycled, because Benziger Family Winery began to move in a more environmentally friendly direction. It has also significantly reduced the energy requirements for storing their wine, even though the costs to construct the wine caves in their vineyard hillside were significant (Silverman, Lanphar, 2003 p. 4). Benziger has and will continue to make their product healthier for the consumer and the environment; this will only help increase their product differentiation to the customers and in turn hopefully increase sales.