Niner Wine Estates of Paso Robles, California, has been awarded the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) certificate.

The firm claimed that it is the first winery to receive this SIP certificate.

Since 2008, the programme has been validating vineyards and it has widened its scope in 2015 to award wineries too.

"We're thrilled that Niner Wine Estates has become our first SIP Certified Winery."

The  winery certification considers various factors including energy efficiency, water use, glass and paper recycling and materials used in packaging.

For vineyard certification, factors such as social equity and financial sustainability are also taken into account.

Sustainability in Pra ctice certification manager Beth Vukmanic Lopez said: “We're thrilled that Niner Wine Estates has become our first SIP Certified Winery. They were already strong supporters of the vineyard programme, and have always made an effort to translate sustainability into their winemaking practices.”

Niner Wine Estates president Andy Niner said: “When (SIP Certified) approached us with their winery certification program we were honored to work with them. Winery processing is an equally important part of winemaking where sustainability (and validation of sustainability) is important.”

With the receipt of this certification, Niner Wine Estates can use the SIP Certified seal in its marketing and promotional efforts.

Niner added: “The problem we are faced with in the wine industry is that there are many brands speaking about sustainability. Sustainability is complex; it is very hard for consumers to figure out what sustainability means and to validate that there is substance behind the words.

“We feel that SIP Certified does a very valuable service in solving this problem for the consumers (because it's) a credible third-party verification with a rigorous, comprehensive, rules-based approach.”