Domaine Bousquet ramps up sustainability achievements in report update
Sustainability leader Domaine Bousquet has released a half-year update to its inaugural sustainability impact report, detailing a significant increase in the production of lightweight bottles and recycled waste.
Published on Earth Day 2024 (22 April), the initial report covered a period up to the end of December 2023 and looked at both internal operations and collaborations throughout the supply chain. The new update maps the first half of 2024, with significant progress accomplished even in this short period of time, the Domaine said.
From 1 January through to 30 June 2024, Domaine Bousquet’s production of still wines in lightweight bottles (less than 420g) increased to 95%, up from 74% in 2023. Including sparkling wines, the figures also rose, reaching 92% in the first six months of this year compared with 71% the year prior.
“Light is right,” owner Anne Bousquet said, underscoring the benefits of lightweighting. It means “less waste, significantly less CO2 emitted during production and fewer raw materials are used.”
The business, based in Tupungato, Argentina, shared further findings from its ongoing report. Switching from 540g to 400g bottles allows for a saving of 160kg (353lbs) of CO2 in the production process of 3,000 bottles, marking an increased yield of 35%. This means every 1,200 kg of glass yields 222,222 heavy (540g) bottles or 300,000 (400g) lightweight bottles. In keeping with the October 2023 Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) Bottle Weight Acord, Domaine Bousquet is on target to reduce its average 750ml still-wine bottle weight from 550g to 420g or less before the end of 2026.
Other recently achieved benchmarks include a significant reduction in waste generated by the company. In 2023, the domaine recycled 96.8% of its waste. By mid-year 2024 the number stood at 97.6%. In 2024 the company has already composted 910,000 kg (2,006,204 lbs) of organic waste – representing four times the composted amount in 2023.
As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, Domaine Bousquet will continue to publish annual sustainability report updates in full on the winery website, prepared in consultation with Europe’s Terra Institute.
As an early adopter of organic viticulture, Domaine Bousquet has been a member of the B Corp movement since 2022. That same year, it also became the fourth wine estate (and the first outside the US) to earn Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) status. Vineyards planted in virgin terrain, starting in 1997, have been certified organic from the get-go. The 672-acre property in Gualtallary in Mendoza’s Uco Valley lies at an altitude of 4,000 feet. Argentina’s largest exporter of certified organic wines, Domaine Bousquet is owned and managed by Anne Bousquet and her husband Labid al Ameri.
Keywords:
Search
56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AN
Registered in England No. 6646125. VAT No. 938 4452 95
