Un nouveau label de “responsabilité sociétale” pour 13 entreprises viticoles du Bordelais
Bordeaux winegrowers want to show that they are committed to the future. Thirteen châteaux were labeled “Bordeaux Cultivons Demain” Tuesday, December 7, at the Palais des Congrès. This is a new label created by the Interprofessional Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) which rewards farms in a CSR strategy, corporate social responsibility. This concerns in particular the preservation of the environment or taking into account the arduousness at work. Any company, regardless of its size, can apply for this new label, which is made up of three levels of commitment.
“Level 1 is easy to achieve, and it’s voluntary”, explains Marie-Catherine Dufour, director of the technical service of the CIVB. “We want tomorrow, corporate social responsibility to be part of the culture of the Bordeaux wine industry”. Level 2 of the label should allow companies to “promote labeling on the product, we are thinking about it”, continues the director. “So it’s already a real motivation to move from level 1 to level 2. And then we are also thinking about a slightly more closed club of companies that would have reached level 3, they certainly privileged ambassadors of Bordeaux wines. “
It will be necessary to find motivation levers for companies to climb levels. – Marie-Catherine Dufour, director of the technical service of the CIVB
Etiquette About this new, Marie-Catherine Dufour refutes any qualification of “greenwashing”, this process to give oneself a falsely ecological image, because according to her the criteria will evolve according to the constraints in the future. “So finally, someone who today has a very good level will be a challenger again tomorrow, because we will have different indicators. Depending on our ambitions, we will ask them for different things”, ensures the director of the technical service of the CIVB.
Operations already engaged
Among these first thirteen labeled companies, many did not wait this certification to reflect on new forms of engagement. For two years, Anne Biscaye, from Château Lapelletrie, in AOC Saint-Émilion, for example reduced her pesticides thanks to bats. “Little by little, we have changed our agricultural practices so that bats feel as good as possible at home”, she explains. “And so naturally, with these predators, there will be less need to treat the crops.”
This new label also allowed speed up certain projects. Château Lagrange, in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle in the Médoc, has developed exoskeletons for its employees. In other words, harnesses made of elastic bands and springs, to limit back pain. “Today, we have found a model that is rather suitable for all winegrowers who work in the vineyards on a daily basis”, explains Benjamin Vimal, technical director of the domain. Before setting up the label, “We did not necessarily communicate on it, there it allowed us to communicate a little more and to let employees know that it was important for them”.
Strengthen links with the territory
The CIVB hopes that the label will push them to see even wider, especially in terms of relations between vineyards and their territory. “What we say to our companies is to participate in the life of their municipality”, details Marie-Catherine Dufour. “It can be silly things, like donating for the school fair or sponsoring the local football club. Everyone can find their way. Of course we are wine companies, but we remain companies above all. . “
On the other hand, transparency in the operation of farms or even product traceability are not considered to be decisive criteria in the attribution of the new label.
Beyond the thirteen wine companies labeled “Bordeaux Cultivons Demain”, a 100% other are already engaged in the certification process. The CIVB’s objective is to achieve the 2,000 labeled companies in 2030 (on 6,000 farms in the Bordeaux region), with 30% of the volumes sold certified.
Companies already labeled “Bordeaux Cultivons Demain”:
- Castel Bordeaux in Blanquefort
- Château de La Dauphine in Fronsac
- Castle of La Rivière in La Rivière
- Château Lagrange in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle
- Château Lapelletrie in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes
- Château Luchey Halde in Mérignac
- Grands Chais de France in Landiras
- Jules Lebègue in Saint-Émilion
- Maison Johanès Boubée in Beychac-et-Caillau
- Ducourt family in Ladaux
- Rousseau vineyards in Abzac
- André Lurton vineyards
- Château Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux-Cantenac