Cape Classics president wins US sustainability award

Rob Bradshaw

"Bradshaw's entrepreneurial efforts to maximise profits while meeting the goals of corporate sustainability exemplify a 'gold standard' for the global business community," said Miriam Weismann, director of the Center for Global Business Ethics and Law at the business school in Boston.

The award recognises his unwavering dedication to South Africa's growth in the competitive US marketplace and for leading Cape Classics with a philosophy that the most valuable philanthropy is provided through active engagement and long term investment in people.

A chief example of this approach is the Indaba Scholarship funded by Cape Classics. A portion of the proceeds from global sales of the company's Indaba Wines funds scholarships to financially needy and academically deserving students to pursue wine-related studies at graduate and post-graduate levels in South Africa. Beyond monetary support, the scholarship programme provides students with mentorship, career coaching and life skills development.

Bradshaw said, "In a marketplace that demands short term thinking, we think long term. We have a commitment to scholarship and society; it's an investment in conjunction with continuing engagement that builds sustainability. As a people-centric organisation, simply writing a cheque isn't enough."

A pledge to social responsibility has been a value long regarded by the company and bringing that human element alive is often experienced when its members and partners travel to South Africa. "It's a mandate that every group of ours, that travels to South Africa, visits the townships and actively engages with its members," he added.

"I know each visit provides me with a new lens through which to see the world; it offers endless inspiration into what we can do next. We are a little company with big dreams, but the way we conduct business is the future."

Nearly 25% of all bottled wine from South Africa available in the US bears the Cape Classics seal.