C&C Group’s Bibendum and Matthew Clark join Harpers Sustainability Charter

By Harpers Editorial

Published: 10 February, 2023

One of the UK’s leading premium wine specialists, Bibendum, has signed onto the Harpers Sustainability Charter as a ‘Sustainability Champion’.

The agreement means Bibendum will work closely with Harpers on initiatives to forward the debate on sustainability and highlight issues in webinars, round tables and Harpers' bi-annual sustainability reports.

First unveiled in February 2022, the Charter forms the central pillar of Harpers' campaign to drive positive change in the fields of carbon footprint, energy efficiency, social responsibility and recycling.

READ MORE: The Harpers Sustainability Charter

As an on-trade specialist, Bibendum works with a huge range of customers, from Michelin-starred restaurants to cocktail bars and pub groups. With such scope, it is vital that companies such as Bibendum prioritise sustainability.

Chief among these priorities is reducing carbon footprint. As part of the C&C Group, which has signed to the Charter as a ‘Signatory’, Bibendum is committed to reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 35% and its Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030 (versus FY2020). The company has also pledged to be a carbon-neutral business by 2050.

Meanwhile, the nationwide drinks distributor Matthew Clark has joined the Charter as a ‘Sustainability Partner’.

Like Bibendum, it too is a member of the C&C Group, and as a result, shares many of the same sustainability pathways.

Such goals include waste reduction, improving recycling rates and introducing circular economy practices. Furthermore, C&C Group has implemented its ambitious Out of Plastics projects in 2022, removing single-use plastics from the packaging of its canned products and moving to fully recyclable cardback packaging.

In terms of renewables, 100% of the electricity across C&C's main sites in the UK and Ireland comes from renewable sources, covering around 98% of the company’s electricity use. C&C has also installed a rooftop solar array at its Clonmel manufacturing site in Ireland, reducing the site’s carbon emissions by 4% and saving approximately 290 tonnes of CO2 annually.

The Charter has picked up real momentum since its introduction, attracting a diverse cross-section of distributors, importers, retailers, wineries and global brands.

These include Alliance Wine, Enotria & Coe, North South Wines, Harpers Wells and Ridgeview.

To find out more, click here to read Harpers Sustainability Charter, or mail us at sustainabilitycharter@harpers.co.uk.

To become a signatory to Harpers Sustainability Charter, click here.

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