The Italian wine industry is strongly committed to sustainability: the stakeholders’ interest for the topic is constantly growing and a wide number of sustainability programs have been launched in recent years, by both private businesses and consortiums. The launch of these initiatives has signaled the commitment of farmers and wine producers to the implementation of sustainability principles in viticulture and wine production, which is a positive signal. Unfortunately, however, the varied design of the sustainability initiatives and the differences in the objectives, methodologies, and proposed tools risks to create confusion, and undermine the positive aspects of these initiatives. In order to bring some clarity to this topic, we herein present a comparison of the most important sustainability programs in the Italian wine sector, with the overall objective of highlighting the opportunity to create synergies between the initiatives and define a common sustainability strategy for the Italian wine sector.

Purpose: – This paper aims to investigate, using an exploratory approach, how environmental values and beliefs about sustainable labelling shape consumer attitude towards sustainable wine. Design/methodology/approach: – Data were collected with an online survey from 495 Italian wine drinkers in 2013. The survey was advertised through websites, blogs, social networks and emails. Based on background research and literature review, ten hypotheses were tested. Then a structural equation model was constructed using latent variables to test the causal links specified in the model. Findings: – The results show that attitude towards sustainable-labelled wine is shaped by both environmental and quality beliefs about sustainable wine, while it is not affected by the economic dimension of sustainability. In addition, age appears to have a slight effect on attitude because young consumers seem to be more interested in sustainability aspects of food products than older people are. Practical implications: – The paper suggests that company communication strategies should focus on sustainable issues to meet the requirements of environmentally conscious consumers. At the same time, sustainable certification on wine labels may help wineries to become more competitive using verifiable sustainable claims to differentiate their products. Originality/value: – The work adds to the literature on wine marketing by evaluating which variables influence consumer attitude towards sustainable-labelled wine and, at the same time, to what extent sustainable aspects are important during wine purchase.

Digital Agriculture Technology Solutions (DATSs) can improve the sustainability of the agricultural sector. While most of the research on the impacts of DATSs is focused on the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, this work aims to understand the social benefits that DATSs have on farmers. Integrating top-down and bottom-up approaches, a Social Sustainability Assessment Framework for DATSs adoption was developed and subsequently applied in the form of a Social Self-Evaluation Tool, a questionnaire tested on 60 farmers across 20 European countries, with a heterogeneous composition in terms of sector, types of DATSs, agronomical context, and socio-economic background. The Framework and the Social Self-Evaluation Tool allowed for a deep investigation of the social impacts of DATSs in terms of labour evolution, education and learning, and generational change. The results demonstrated the positive effects of DATSs on the social sphere of sustainability, as well as the importance of integrating this type of social analysis in the evaluation of digital technologies in agriculture.

This study aims to examine the current state of awareness regarding Agriculture 4.0 (A4.0) among Italian agricultural enterprises and to analyse variations in adoption levels, expressed needs, perceived benefits, challenges and barriers to digitalisation. Drawing on data from a descriptive survey conducted among Italian farms in 2024, this study presents findings from 1,248 respondents. The results indicate varying levels of adoption of A4.0 solutions, with monitoring systems and connected vehicles being the most widely implemented. The primary drivers for A4.0 adoption include farm management, operational control, and the enhancement of production efficiency, all of which are associated with significant perceived benefits. However, challenges such as limited interoperability and skill shortages hinder A4.0 implementation, while financial and structural constraints remain major barriers for farms seeking to transition to A4.0. This study offers valuable insights to inform policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers in fostering a more effective and inclusive digital transformation in the Italian agricultural sector.

This research develops a managerial tool to monitor and evaluate the sustainability performance of Digital Agricultural Technological Solutions (DATS). This tool is an assessment framework designed to evaluate both the benefits (monetary and non-monetary) and costs of DATS’s implementation. The assessment framework is developed with the study of 30 cases in Europe, working with different crops and breeds, with and without DATS. The framework is developed in three phases. First, it combines top-down and bottom-up approaches to identify the most relevant assessment categories, subcategories, and key performance indicators from a sustainability perspective, according to the type of technology adopted and the process in which the DATS are implemented. Next, the assessment framework design involves determining the calculation methods, considering both monetary and non-monetary evaluations. Finally, the framework is applied to each case to evaluate the costs and benefits, as well as the appropriateness and feasibility of the performance calculations. The contributions of the study to literature and practice are threefold, i) developing an assessment framework with a feasible and affordable subset of indicators linking theory and reality, ii) combining a dual lens assessment in monetary and non-monetary terms, and, iii) develop a dynamic living assessment tool that facilitates processing information about DATS adoption in a multi-season perspective. In the future, researchers could further refine, replicate and expand the use of the assessment framework in other geographies or for specific DATS or agricultural sectors.