SUSTAINABLE VITICULTURE
The environmental impact of the Champagne industry was assessed in a study conducted in the early 2000s. Based on those findings, there are four major issues for action:
Reduction of additives, and the control of risks to health and the environment
For more than twenty years now, the industry has been investing huge sums in research and development aimed at controlling the possible consequences of crop protection.
The result today is a significant reduction in the quantities of pesticides used, and greater safeguards in the way we use them. Half of all the products now used in Champagne are approved for organic use. Champagne is among Europe’s leaders in the development of sexual confusion techniques – a natural alternative to chemical insecticides that can virtually eliminate pesticide use.
The preservation and enhancement of terroir, bio-diversity and landscapes.
Protecting the soil against all forms of deterioration is a long-standing preoccupation in Champagne, with particular attention to the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Several initiatives have already been taken by the industry to protect and add value to its heritage. Examples include: the management of groundwater resources on slopes; the promotion of the ‘reasoned’ feeding of soil and vine; the development of decision-making tools; the drawing-up of guidance maps; and the increased use of cover cropping in and around vineyards.
Data collected over the past 20 years (monitoring of earthworm populations and microflora) indicate that Champagne soils today enjoy an excellent level of biological activity.
- Bio-diversity and landscapes
The region is home to numerous areas of special ecological interest, where bio-diversity is maintained by the conservation of natural habitats.
The overall focus here is to improve the ecological infrastructure of the vineyard (cover cropping between vines and across slopes, and the establishment of hedgerows); also groundwater management on slopes, with an eye to solutions that fit harmoniously within the landscape.
The accountable management of water, effluent, by-products and waste
Champagne producers use various methods to reduce their consumption of water. These include: the eco-design or eco-refurbishment of buildings; improved systems of cleaning, recycling and/or collection; and reducing water wastage wherever possible. Water conservation remains a priority, meanwhile maintaining high standards of hygiene in pressing centres, cuveries (units housing the fermenting vats) and other work premises.
Cellar hygiene relies on frequent cleaning, which in turn generates effluent-borne organic matter.
Today, 92 per cent of effluents and liquid by-products are treated or processed for recycling. The target for the future is 100 per cent.
All of the waste and by-products of Champagne wine and grape production are processed for recycling.
The marc (or pommace) is delivered to authorised distilleries where it is broken down by separation and extraction. A wide range of compounds are recovered for recycling: ethanol for industrial use and motor fuel; grape-seed oil; polyphenols, anti-oxidants and natural colour pigments; tartaric acid with potential application in processed foods, cosmetics and human health products.
Activities linked to champagne production also generate around 10,000 tonnes per year of industrial-type waste : metals, wood, glass and packaging materials including plastic, paper and board.
Today, 75 per cent of this waste is sorted and processed for recycling, aiming for 100 per cent recovery in the near future. .
The energy and climate challenge
This is probably the biggest challenge facing mankind in the years and decades to come – and one addressed by the Champagne region long before the passing of legislation. In early 2003 the carbon footprint of the industry was assessed as a whole, launching the Champagne Climate Plan soon afterwards to demonstrate the solidarity with future generations.
That Plan today encompasses five main focus areas, 16 research and development programmes and more than 40 individual projects either underway or in the pipeline. The main fields of action are: buildings/installations; viticultural and oenological practices; and freight transport and business travel (which relates to the responsible procurement of goods and services from sources as close as possible to the industry’s centres of supply).