VineBalance 2022 Virtual Workshop Series - Social Equity

Join Chris Serra, a leading expert in sustainable winegrowing certification, as we workshop a selection of new objectives introduced in the VineBalance 2022 update. Growers are invited to practice scoring their vineyard operations anonymously and ask questions as we move through key action items in the Ecosystem Health, Climate Resiliency, and Social Equity chapters of the latest version of the VineBalance workbook.

Ecosystem Health – Tuesday, November 30th from 4:00 to 5:30pm

Sustainable farming is a holistic approach that acknowledges the interconnection between agriculture and natural ecosystems. Encouraging a healthy ecosystem in and around the vineyard is essential to soil health, biodiversity, and pollinator habitat.

Climate Resiliency – Tuesday, December 7th from 4:00 to 5:30pm

Climate resiliency involves a set of practices and capacities that are known to help withstand climate change at the farm level through carbon sequestration, adaptation, and risk mitigation. It is important for growers to understand the science of climate change and build resiliency measures into their environmental, social, and economic management strategies.

Social Equity – Tuesday, December 14th from 4:00 to 5:30pm

Social equity addresses the “people” component of the so-called Three P’s of Sustainability: people, planet, and prosperity. This can be achieved through thoughtful human resource management, employee benefits, and worker health and safety measures.

Chris Serra began his career in the wine industry working in the tasting room of Pennsylvania’s Chaddsford Winery in 2006. After a visit to Portland, he made the cross-country move and found a home at the Carlton Winemakers Studio where he helped build its consumer-facing sustainability presence. In 2007, Serra was hired as the LIVE Executive Director, where he was tasked with developing a winery certification program and expanding the organizational footprint into new regions in the Pacific Northwest. He has since overseen thirteen years of membership growth (except for 2020's COVID-related contraction), and expansion into Washington and Idaho. He has acted as a sustainability ambassador to emerging wine regions and has been invited to speak on numerous occasions as a representative of the pioneering LIVE certification schemes. Serra holds a BA from the University of Delaware, and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.