In the US, Oregon has a significant network of B Corp wineries, including A to Z Wineworks and Et Fille. EPI Group’s three Champagnes – Piper-Heidsieck, Charles Heidsieck and Rare – were the first in the region to be certified. The UK’s Ridgeview was an early adopter and, more recently, Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite has joined the fray.
Created by the non-profit organisation B Lab, which was founded in 2006, B Corp assesses and continually monitors a company’s social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. After answering hundreds of questions around governance, workers, the environment, community and customers, a company is awarded a score: above 80 points, and subject to an audit, the company can be certified. It must commit to the score being publicly available on its B Corp profile, and must re-certify every three years. The cost is relative to the size of the business, but is generally considered to be high.
Achieving B Corp certification often requires an element of structural change within a business, forcing it to take a long, hard look at its supply chain, employees and overall impact. It may also have to change its corporate structure to make it accountable to all of its stakeholders, not just its shareholders. The implication is that a B Corp business cares as much about its environmental and social impact as it does its profits – certainly a model that an ethical consumer would commend.
On the one hand, large companies with more financial resources and bigger environmental and social impacts have the means and the motivation to start down the B Corp path, so perhaps we should demand that certification is the bare minimum in their broader sustainability strategy. On the other hand, like many certification systems related to sustainability, B Corp can engender some scepticism – questions may be raised when the B Corp logo pops up in association with huge multinationals or financial investment companies with links to potentially questionable working practices, for example.
That being said, as the wine industry is likely to come under increasing scrutiny, this is still a certification that it would do well to subscribe to, particularly when it comes to issues relating to labour and human rights.
Greenhushing?
When companies stay silent about their sustainability progress, whether to avoid criticism for not doing enough or to avoid being accused of greenwashing.
Credit: Malte Mueller / Getty Images
Sip to make a difference
Château Maris, Brama, Vin de France 2021
Score: 94
POA £ Armit
Refined, radiant and refreshing, this 100% Grenache Gris from Languedoc plays delicate notes of meadowsweet, white blossom and lemon sherbet off richer tones of wild flower honey and cooked apples. Sophisticated and finespun in texture. The first European winery to be B Corp certified. Drink 2024-2030 Alcohol 14%
