Hallgarten & Novum Wines Reveals Updated Eco Standard
On World Environment Day (Wednesday 5th June 2024), we have published an updated edition of the Hallgarten Eco Standard; first released on World Environment Day 2023. Now in its second year, the Standard has been developed to cover all aspects of sustainability associated with its supplier base, encompassing practices in the vineyard, the winery and in the overall management of the producer’s business.
This year, the Standard measures the improvements that partner producers have made over the last 12 month, focusing particularly on Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity (ED&I), part of the Social Responsibility pillar of the Eco Standard.
As part of its corporate social and environmental responsibility, Hallgarten Wines has surveyed its supplier partners once again to create the 2024 edition of the Eco Standard, to help determine what wine sustainability means within the business. The overarching aim of the Eco Standard is to encourage sustainable practices from Hallgarten’s wine suppliers and to hold them fully accountable; to ensure the business has a credible third-party sustainable policy; and to provide a coherent communication tool, ensuring Hallgarten’s customers understand the sustainable practices of its suppliers. The Eco Standard complements any individual country's sustainable certification held by suppliers and takes into account appellation laws that inhibit suppliers from certain sustainable practices.
Hallgarten Portfolio Director, Jim Wilson, commented: “Sustainability is, and will continue to be, a fundamental factor in all stages of wine production. We are passionate about reducing the impact we have on the environment and have developed the Hallgarten Eco Standard to hold ourselves, and our partner producers, accountable for our actions. Each year this Eco Standard will serve as a reminder to us all that we must never rest on our laurels in the pursuit of a greener future.
“This year it has been reassuring to see that many of our partner producers have taken a step in the right direction, with the number of overall scores increasing year on year. However the work does not stop here!”
The Hallgarten Eco Standard identifies four levels of sustainability: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Developing, across four distinct pillars: Environment, Energy Management, Water & Waste Management and Social Responsibility.
The highest-scoring producer partners in 2024 were Viña Undurraga and Javier Sanz, both top-scoring in three out of four categories.
To achieve Gold status, the highest rating within the Hallgarten Eco Standard, suppliers need to score a minimum of 85 points from the exacting 100-point questionnaire, which covers 41 criteria. These suppliers have clearly demonstrated a strong focus on sustainability across their business and across the four categories. The next level is Silver, for those demonstrating strong sustainable practices in certain areas of their business. Bronze and Developing levels indicate suppliers who are actively working on their sustainable practices but have more to do.
In the 2024 Hallgarten Eco Standard, 18% more partner producers achieved Gold status than in 2023, bringing the number of Gold Medal producers to 46. Overall, 23% of responding producers went up the rankings in 2024; 72% remained the same year on year.
Social Responsibility is an area of sustainability that is often overlooked, and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) agenda is core within that. The Eco Standard looks into how their suppliers’ promote employee welfare, support local economic development and promote advocacy on environmental and social matters. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) is vital in building a solid social foundation for the business in an ethical and environmental way. The whole ED&I topic is often overlooked, but so critical. It is an area that Hallgarten as highlighted to the wider trade as needing greater awareness in the last few years.
Each category has ‘Champions’ who have achieved the highest score in one or more of the four categories. The Hallgarten Eco Standard is an ongoing review of Suppliers’ sustainable practices and will be regularly updated.
39 additional producers achieved Champion status. Most notably, the 2024 Eco Standard saw increases in Water & Waste Management credentials, with 14 new suppliers achieving a maximum score of their work in this area – an increase of 61%.
