February 6, 2024
“Our aim has always been to approach the world of wine in a way that respects the environment”
The Daily spoke with Mickael Alborghetti, Founder EthicDrinks, in an exclusive interview about the place of the environment in the world of wine today
ADVERTORIAL
The EthicDrinks founder discussed the company’s goals in terms of reducing carbon emissions and packaging, and how their priority remains providing wines that are “beyond organic” without compromising on any of their founding values or principles.
What market niche were you looking to fill when you founded EthicDrinks?
We weren’t particularly looking to fill a niche, but rather to reach the global market. This is why we immediately expanded our activities in France and abroad, and why we didn’t want to confine ourselves to a single territory or niche. Our aim has always been to approach the world of wine in a way that respects the environment, and that only seemed achievable by reaching a broad following.
At Ethic Drinks, your aim is to produce sustainable and ethical wines that go beyond organic. Can you explain what the concept of “beyond organic” means?
For us, going beyond organic means not only associating ourselves with the pure product, but also everything that goes into it, especially the hidden part that the consumer doesn’t see. In other words, packaging and transport, such as not using a capsule and only using glue that is natural and vegetal as well as lighter bottles made from recycled glass. Post-mortem is not something you see a lot of in the wine world. For the most part, it’s only done in the organic sector, but we wanted to have an ethical approach across the board, both upstream and downstream of the product.
EthicDrinks is certified carbon neutral. What strategies have you put in place to achieve this objective?
We wanted to be certified carbon neutral right from the beginning. We worked on reducing our emissions, and to do so effectively we first calculated them to see where we should offset emissions and where reductions could be made, as simply offsetting emissions without reducing them is not our objective. We have a carbon reduction logic using replanting, for example last year we replanted forests in Saint-Émilion. Supporting projects like this allows us to offset our carbon emissions, and these trees can be used in the future to make small vineyards, so there really is a long-term logic behind it.
We wanted to have an ethical approach across the board, both upstream and downstream of the product.
Do you think the wine industry as a whole is moving towards more sustainable products?
As a whole, yes. We’re still very small in the wine world, but we can see that some of the big players are getting inspired, which makes us very happy. You might think that we wouldn’t want to be copied, but as long as we’re doing something that’s better for the environment, we’re always happy to see others following suit. I do think that certain practices are changing, like very heavy bottles for example. This was all the rage at one time, but we’re starting to go back on that.
It is a very traditional environment, so it is changing, yes, but very slowly. The current economic crisis isn’t exactly favourable either, so it’s not an easy time, but we’re hanging in there. In any case, we will continue to be a leader in this area and we won’t make any concessions, despite the crisis.
The fight for the future
EthicDrinks are involved in a number of partnerships with NGOs in their fight for sustainability and the environment. The first NGO partnership they signed was with the WWF, and EthicDrinks became a member of a club called Entreprendre pour la planète (Working for the Planet): a group of entrepreneurs and WWF members in France who support biodiversity. The WWF states that being a member of this club means contributing to the protection of natural environments by supporting WWF projects and being part of the ecosystem of committed players who share their expertise, feedback, tools and ideas to move forward collectively. Mickael Alborghetti said of the partnership that: “a whole group of entrepreneurs and WWF members support the biodiversity programme and advise us on our actions. They have a real sense of perspective as advisers and confirm that we’re moving in the right direction.”
EthicDrinks also have a partnership with the NGO Sea Shepherd as part of a marine biodiversity initiative. Sea Shepherd has campaigns that focus on defending whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, penguins, turtles, fish, krill and seabirds from poaching, unsustainable fishing, habitat destruction and captivity.