Champagne and sustainable development

An AOC with a worldwide reputation has a duty to pursue environmentally-friendly wine production. Always significant, this concern has become even more of a priority over the past 15 years, driving an approach towards more sustainable vineyard practices.

An environmental impact assessment undertaken by the entire Champagne industry in the early 2000s identified four key areas for action:

• control of inputs and their potential impact on health and the environment,
• preservation and enhancement of terroirs, biodiversity and landscapes,
• accountable management of water, wastewater, by-products and waste,
• the need to address the energy/climate challenge.

These areas are considered a priority by the profession. They form the focus of a ‘Champagne Business Environmental Management system’ – an environmental policy for the Champagne trade association as a whole, based on internationally accepted standards and implemented in order to meet the targets set.

A continued drive for quality

At the heart of Champagne’s environmental programme is a continued drive for quality based on four main policy instruments:

• produce a critical areas inventory and action plan,
• implement proposals for action,
• monitor and assess progress using indicators,
• set new targets that will drive progress..

Collective progress

Within this frame of reference, collective progress is the result of the pooling of 15,000 individual progress plans completed or due to be completed by growers and Champagne Houses involved in either sustainable viticulture (via a self-assessment or certification programme) or organic winegrowing.

Indicators monitoring the environmental performance of the Champagne business reveal in close detail the very substantial progress achieved over the past 15 years.