Our Sustainability Commitment
We strongly believe environmental stewardship is important to help reduce the effects of climate change and are pleased to work with wine producers and hospitality customers who share in our passion, so we can continue to enjoy and share great wines for generations to come. We have joined the Harpers Sustainability Charter, an initiative set up to build a network of sustainably minded businesses and be a reference for companies looking to work with sustainable partners. The aim is to help drive sustainability across all facets of the UK drinks trade, by sharing, supporting and promoting best practice. Given multifaceted nature of sustainability we have highlighted the key areas where we are working to progress towards greater sustainability.
• Carbon footprint reduction: Buying and shipping direct to our bonded warehouse allows us to reduce the miles on the wine, to have a positive environmental impact. Delivery efficiency is maximised through our specialist wine software, Vintner, as well as our minimum 60 bottle order process.
• Waste management & recycling: Our team constantly evaluates our operations to ensure they are as efficient as possible. Reducing, reusing, and recycling to minimise waste.
• Use of renewable energy: Our headquarters Moor Park is purpose built with the environment in mind, utilising the latest in insulation and internal climate control and fresh air circulation. We have recently installed solar panelling to further reduce our carbon footprint.
• Community focused activities: Charity/local events/shop local We engage fully with the local community and are proud to support many local events and charities, including Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), Marie Curie and Game and Wildlife Conservational Trust (GWCT). We launched our Love Local loyalty card in 2022 to give back to the local community with special offers and events.
• Responsible portfolio sourcing: We actively source and work with wine producers who have a positive environmental impact on both production and distribution. Selecting partnerships that promote reduced intervention within the viticulture, viniculture, and agriculture of their respective domains. We are champions of sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and vegan wines. Our exclusive house Champagne, Jacques Boncoeur Coeur has received the first Sustainable Winegrowing certification in Champagne.
• NPD & packaging: We use Pulpsafe transit packaging for our wine deliveries. Pulpsafe bottle packaging offers the highest levels of protection for shipping your bottles with the greenest possible eco-credentials. Pulp is made by combining water and recycled paper. It is then moulded using wet pressing technology and is then heated to give it strength and rigidity. We are proud to use some of the best packaging in the market - it has received the thumbs up from our customers; significantly reduces breakages and the impact on the environment. Made in the UK, Pulpsafe packaging is recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable. It can be placed in any household compost heap and will biodegrade in less than six months.
• Industry advocacy on environmental and social matters: We created The Bon Coeur Wine Academy in 2022 to further educate the next generation of wine enthusiasts from the hospitality industry and develop their wine knowledge and awareness of the trade with an emphasis on climate change, sustainability and social responsibility. We invite guest speakers across the wine industry to deliver insightful sessions to educate the candidates in these matters so they can take the knowledge and share with their teams within their venues. We highlight wines that are organic, biodynamic, vegan and those producers which are practicing sustainable viticulture on our website, in our brochure and promotional publications. We promote these producers with our ‘meet the winemaker’ interviews to share their journey to sustainability to reach and connect with a wider audience.
Goals
We are in the process of building our Sustainability and Social Responsibility Plan which will be incorporated into all aspects of the business. Over the next 6 months we will form a sustainabilty action team and continue to work towards achieving our goals, which include:
Carbon footprint reduction: We are looking at hybrid vans having already moved our sales team to hybrid cars.
Renewable energy: We have had 48 solar panels installed on the roof of our Moor Park HQ which will produce 17,000KWh per year of electricity. This is equivalent to planting 150 trees, or saving 3.3 tonnes of CO2. Action: Report on what impact we had before the panels – measure the reductions monthly and review after 12 months.
Responsible Portfolio Sourcing: The buying team have been challenged to increase the number of suppliers who are working sustainably and reducing their carbon footprint. It is now a proactive approach to selecting suppliers and working with them. Action: Measure what percentage of the portfolio fall into this category and measure again after 12 months.
NPD and packaging: This is not new for us. We are now actively communicating this initiative with our customers both in terms of information as to how to recycle the packaging, promoting it online and over our social media platforms. Action: Measure the feedback from customers.
Industry advocacy on environmental and social matters: We launched the Wine Academy in 2022 at our HQ Moor Park. For 2023 we are going out into the regions with days in Newcastle, York and Harrogate. This will mean more customers will be reached and they will need to travel less miles in their endeavour to further educate themselves and their team. Action: Measure feedback from customers and ensure there is a minimum of one topic per day covering this area.
