Owner Michelle LaRue resisted her entrepreneurial roots successfully for nearly three decades before founding Voldsom Enterprises (roughly translated as “fierce enterprises,” a nod to her Nordic roots). A reformed engineer dedicated to identifying the problems hiding in plain sight, she works with businesses to pinpoint cost-effective changes that make an impact quickly. Through more than 25 years of conducting audits and designing environmental compliance solutions for dozens of manufacturers and government agencies, she developed a sixth sense of where the pain points hidden from owners and managers are likely to lurk.

Off the job, Michelle discovered that travel + wine = an endless adventure.  Twenty years, 16 countries, hundreds of books and reviews read, and more than 4,000 bottles of wine, and it occurred to her that it might make sense to put wine and sustainability in business together.  (You probably saw that coming, right?!)

The result is a business dedicated to supporting vineyards and wineries in creating businesses that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable from grape to glass.  Winemakers and vineyard owners in France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Chile, and the U.S. have been incorporating more sustainable approaches to running their operations for the past two decades.  These approaches include green business certifications, commitments to recycling and waste minimization, and even the adoption of ISO 14001 environmental management standards.

All of that sounds really complicated…but it doesn’t have to be.  It also sounds potentially expensive, but the thing is, a business can’t be sustainable at the expense of profitability.  Sustainability must also become a tool in the business marketing toolbox, and it needs to pay for itself in some form:  enhanced land value, cost savings of materials or waste disposal, increased visitor traffic and customer conversion.  Our customized Eco-Plan and Eco-Marketing packages take all of these factors into account.  If we can help you sort through your options, let’s connect!