Swedish importer to audit SA wine producers

South African wine producers are under scrutiny as Systembolaget, the Swedish governmentowned liquor retail monopoly, has decided to audit them to ensure they are compliant with corporate social responsibility issues. Speaking at a press conference in Cape Town recently, Systembolaget CEO Magdalena Gerger said all suppliers to the monopoly, which is one of the single biggest destinations for South African wine exports, are expected to comply with a code of conduct that addresses areas such as human rights, working conditions, anti-corruption, environment and climate, skills development, communication and sustainable purchasing. “South Africa is currently being audited as it is one of the high-risk countries when it comes to CSR issues. For the past four years South Africa has been the leading wineproducing nation to supply Systembolaget across its more than 420 stores. It is therefore essential to us that our producers here comply with our code of conduct.” She said other high-risk countries included Chile, Argentina and Bulgaria as well as California. “We have undertaken to monitor our supplier chain through internal checks and audits. In the next two years some 20 audits will take place,” she said. Gerger said the Systembolaget board of directors had also visited its South African suppliers, meeting with a range of role-players including farm workers, unions, farmers and company executives. “This visit has not been because of the recent strikes in the farm worker industry in the Western Cape but is part of a process we started some time ago that will see us increasing our suppliers’ sense of commitment and responsibility in order to create a sustainable drinks supply chain.” She said they would work with companies found not adhering to the code of conduct in an effort to bring about compliance through dialogue, but if a producer was not willing to change they would ultimately cancel contracts. “As a major purchaser of wine we have some influence and hope to bring about a change in the way workers are treated, their living conditions and their rights and we are therefore encouraging our wine producers to embrace the audit process that is being carried out by an external company.” CAPTION Magdalena Gerger, CEO of Systembolaget, and Dr Cecilia Seidegård, chairperson of the Systembolaget board, at a press conference with Western Cape MEC for Agriculture, Gerrit van Rensburg, in Cape Town … creating a sustainable drinks supply chain.