(NVR) - Napa’s wineries and vineyards are steadily going green amid efforts to promote environmental best practices within the county’s core industry.

A growing number of wineries and vineyard owners have sought sustainability via the Napa Green program, which offers participants routes to environmentally friendly practices as well as recognition for using them.

Cakebread Cellars, located along Highway 29 in Rutherford, was one of the first to have both its vineyard land and winery certified when the program began more than a decade ago.

CEO Bruce Cakebread recalled the steps the winery took to become certified: a years-long process of changing its lighting, installing low-flow restrictors in the faucets of its 13 bathrooms and bringing in micro-turbines to generate electricity. The winery also put an emphasis on reducing its trash and increasing its recycling. Hauling trash, Cakebread said, “is one of those hidden expenses,” for a winery.