Promoting the sustainability of the region’s wines is increasingly recognised by local wine producers as an instrument for a) responding to market failures that have already been experienced, and; b) affirming the Alentejo brand in the domestic and foreign markets as being produced in accordance with well-established eco-efficiency principles.

The Sustainability Programme is based on a model of continuous improvement with several levels of implementation that allowing producers with different scales and capacities to participate in the same system with no exclusion of anyone. The programme has three distinct sectors (Viticulture; Cellar; Viticulture & Cellar) that reflect the types of member present in the Alentejo Regional Wine Growing Commission.

The Programme uses a standardized methodology for a mandatory self-assessment consisting of 18 intervention chapters with 170 criteria related to biodiversity conservation, eco-efficiency, circular economy, green economy, governance and social innovation.

Implementation of the Programme is supported by various activities promoting the sharing of best practices, peer-to-peer dialogue, collaborative problem solving and applied research projects with academics and R&D institutions.