Winner – Champagne Telmont (Rémy Cointreau)
When Rémy Cointreau acquired majority control of Telmont in late 2020, the stated ambition was to make the champagne house 100% organic within ten years.
Since then, the brand’s figurehead, Ludovic du Plessis, has built and maintained a high profile in the category thanks to the plethora of new sustainability news he has had to impart.
In March, the unit unveiled Réserve de la Terre, produced using 100% organic grapes. Just a month earlier, Telmont commenced its ‘193,000 shades of green’ initiative, whereby 193,000 of its bottles each year are sourced from those that are usually discarded during their production process. Recall that the brand only uses green bottles, which are made with 87% recycled glass.
Credit also goes to Telmont’s refusal to use giftboxes, not to mention its plans to use wind-powered Neoline ships for transportation from next year, underlining its zero-air freight policy. All this and the estate uses renewably-sourced electricity for all of its operations.
Our judges said: “Telmont carries itself as an industry leader in champagne, approaching sustainability less as a challenge and more as an opportunity to innovate.”
Special Commendation – Santa Rita Estates
Santa Rita elected to focus on the social aspects of its ESG approach for this year’s awards submission. In Chile, for example, the wine group, which also has operations in neighbouring Argentina, funds two types of scholarships that are available to its employees and their children – one for technical & professional studies and the other for academic excellence. the number of new scholarships in 2021 was 128, rising to 170 last year.
The company also runs a medical centre in the city of Buin in Chile’s Maipo region for its employees and their children.
