The Drinks Business Green Awards 2026 has opened for entries, ahead of a new one-day sustainability forum built around the awards ceremony in November. The programme, described by The Drinks Business as Green Day, will combine panel discussions, tastings and a new award category with the awards presentation itself, giving sustainability in wine and drinks its own dedicated event rather than a slot inside a bigger fair.
Awards built around sustainability have multiplied across the wine industry over the past decade, and it's easy to be cynical about another one opening for entries. But for smaller wineries, these programmes can matter more than they do for large producers with marketing budgets to spare. A family winery that has spent years converting to organic farming, cutting water use or switching to lighter glass rarely has the resources to tell that story loudly on its own. An award, or even just entering one, gives that work a name and a place to be seen.
Certification versus recognition
It's worth separating two things that often get lumped together: formal certification, such as organic or biodynamic schemes, and awards or recognition programmes like this one. Certification is a process, usually multi-year, with audits and paperwork. Awards are judged on a single cycle and tend to reward specific initiatives, a new packaging approach, a water recovery system, a switch to renewable energy, rather than certifying an entire operation. Both matter, but they do different jobs. Certification proves compliance to regulators and some buyers. Awards build a story that a winery can put on a shelf talker or a website, and that story is often what actually reaches a consumer standing in a shop deciding between two bottles.
The addition of a forum alongside the ceremony suggests organizers see an appetite for something more substantial than a dinner and a trophy. Panel discussions and tastings built around a specific theme give producers, buyers and press a reason to compare notes on what's actually working, not just who won. For an industry facing real pressure from climate change, water scarcity and rising costs, that kind of practical exchange may end up mattering more than the awards themselves.
Entries are open now, with the forum and ceremony scheduled for November.