Lanchester’s Italian partner Tombacco steps up to sustainability

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 23 November, 2022

Vinicola Tombacco has achieved Equalitas Certification, a wine sector sustainability standard which recognises the winery’s commitment to sustainability.

The Padua-based producer, which is Lanchester Wines’ Italian partner for the UK market, has been following an increasingly sustainable path, with several projects to improve its environmental and social credentials.

Solar panels have been installed on the winery roof, currently covering 10% of energy requirements, in a “first step towards complete energy autonomy”, according to the producer.

A drip irrigation scheme, based on an “innovative” Israeli model, has also been introduced, to deliver the minimum amount of water needed by the vines, along with a conversion to organic viticulture, now certified by Italian body Valoritalia.

On the social side, Tombacco has furthered its employee welfare programme, with annual awards now offered for “good work and team building”.

In a statement on the progress, third generation joint owners and brothers Cristian and Andrea Tombacco said: "Improvement is a path taken one step at a time, and each step must follow a precise direction made up of short-term objectives that lead to more ambitious and prestigious long-term successes.

“Every year we'll prepare a sustainability report setting out the improvement policies that we intend to put into practice, measuring the overall situation.”

They added that such progress will be independently audited, both for purposes of transparency and to drive commitment.

Vinicola Tombacco UK partner, Lanchester Wines, is a Partner level signatory to Harpers Sustainability Charter, being a leader in sustainable energy generation, carbon reducing in-market bottling and alternative packaging, with a "commitment to 360 sustainability – to work with suppliers who share our commitment to sustainability", according to Lanchester's marketing manager Emma Campbell.

Tombacco, in turn, is now embarked on a programme to identify how it can reduce the CO2 of its packaging.

"We know the path we have decided to take is a difficult one, but we do it with the awareness that this is the right one in order to stay faithful to our principles and guarantee future generations a thriving business like the one we are experiencing today,” said Cristian Tombacco.

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