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What they won and why: The DB Green Awards 2024

27 November 2024 By Patrick Schmitt

Yesterday afternoon at a packed Home House in central London, we revealed the recipients of the drinks business Green Awards 2024 – and here is a rundown of who won what, and why.

The event saw the green-minded great and good of the international drinks trade gather together to find out this year’s winners of what is still the only set of industry gongs for all that’s both eco-friendly and alcoholic.

In fact, The Green Awards represent the culmination of a long-running eco-focus at db, which started with our ‘ivy-clad’ green issue in 2007, which was repeated in 2008, before being followed up with a ‘green list’ in 2009 – a ranking of the most powerful environmental figures in the global drinks trade, representing the first rundown of its type.

Having attracted much interest and comment, the next year, in 2010, we launched The Green Awards, which we have run every year since, adding new categories to reflect changes within sustainable drinks production, marketing, retailing and shipping.

Today, 15 years since their launch, we have as many as 13 categories in The Green Awards, covering the likes of biodiversity, renewable energy, water management, as well as the logistics, packaging, and retailing of drinks – along with our big awards, such as those for the most sustainable business, the greenest company of the year, and our Green Personality Award.

Read on to find out about this year’s winners in our full report on The Green Awards 2024.

Best Logistics and Supply Chain Green Initiative for 2024

Winner: Direct Wines for WinePact

This “fantastic tool” created entirely in-house by Direct Wines to help businesses in the wine supply chain calculate and track their sustainability goals wowed the judges. Calling it “a really solid piece of work that shows authority and is intuitive and easy to use”, the panel liked the fact that supplier feedback will be used to craft ‘version 2’ of the tool, showing “a willingness to collaborate and adapt”.

Commendation: VinLog for its biofuel solution

The judges were impressed by VinLog’s investment in advanced biofuels, which it began in earnest in March 2023 but is now starting to show the fruits of its labour. They said the initiative, which uses non-toxic, biodegradable and reusable fuel made from waste feedstocks and vegetable oils, is “integrated throughout the business’ whole structure”.

Green Launch of the Year

Winner: Gipsy Hill for its World First Carbon Negative Beers Without Offsets

Despite strong competition from across the drinks sector, it was a pair of new beers from South London’s Gipsy Hill Brewing that took home the award for Best Green Launch of 2024. Called Swell and Trail, the draft beers claim to be the ‘world’s first carbon negative beers without offsets’, achieving a Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) footprint of -30g and -40g per pint respectively, compared to standard pints which are more than 350g per pint. The judges were especially impressed by “the drastic reduction” that this represented, the “trailblazing” approach, albeit from a small brewer, as well as the company’s shift to using barely that is grown regeneratively.

Shortlist:

Emiliana Organic Vineyards for their Eco Balance Organic Low Alcohol, Low Calories and Zero Sugar
Gipsy Hill for its World First Carbon Negative Beers Without Offsets
One to One by Oxford Landing
Stone VIK
Tread Softly

Organic Initiative of the Year

Winner: Domaine Bousquet for their ‘Composting Excellence’ project

Our judges felt strongly that this award must go to someone for doing “more than converting to organic”. They said that Domaine Bousquet has gone “above and beyond” with their composting initiative, which has so far seen 910,000kg composted, with the producer poised to roll the project out across its growers in Gualtallary. One judge said that with such a good initiative you would “expect big companies in Argentina to follow suit.”

Renewable Energy Implementation Award

Winner: Perelada

Wowing the judges was a Spanish wine company with a new LEED certified winery in Empordà, which not only maxims natural light but employs 100% renewable energy to power its needs. This involves a wide range of sources, from a geothermal system, which includes 331 underground piles, to solar panels too, and, finally, aerothermal energy as well, for when additional energy is required.

Water Management Award

Winner: Sogrape

“Comprehensive” and “effective”, as well as “innovative”, were just some of the descriptions used to commend Sogrape’s water saving measures across this Portuguese producer’s wineries. With a strategy focused on reducing consumption, as well as optimizing irrigation, along with reusing water, and employing advanced technologies to conserve and treat water, the business was deemed a worthy winner of this year’s Water Management Award. Particularly impressing the judges was Sogrape’s new wastewater treatment plant at its Quinta do Sairrão in Portugal’s Douro region. Following upgrades, the system now incorporates the METLAND system, which uses microbial electrochemical processes to degrade pollutants with minimal energy consumption. Such efficiency savings are not only good for water recycling but carbon emissions too.

Shortlist:

Bodega Ribera del Cuarzo
Casa Relvas
Encirc
Perelada
Sogrape

The Amorim Sustainability Award

Winner: Domain Bousquet

Representing a textbook approach of how to run a sustainable business, Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet wowed our judges in this year’s awards. With a clear, green-minded vision, and easy-to-read accounting of all its achievements, no-one could find fault with this wine producer. “Everything was covered, measured and reported, with real progress in evidence,” said one judge, with another admitting that this was the most comprehensive account of sustainable business practices they had yet seen. Already one of the most certified wineries in the world, most recent successes include gaining B-corp status and becoming Regenerative Organic Certified. Making Domaine Bousque this year’s winner in particular was its release of an inaugural Sustainability Impact Report in April 2024, which was praised for its exceptional transparency and “naked approach.”

Runner-up: Emiliana Organic Vineyards

The judges wanted to recognise Emiliana Organic Vineyards for coming such a close second to our winner. This Chilean producer has long been a beacon of organic wine production, but is now going further with energy-saving initiatives.

Commendation: Casa Relvas

Renewable energy, biodiversity preservation, native cork planting, water recycling, organic viticulture, staff training and community support are just some of the measures that are being practised by Portgual’s Casa Relvas. And, this family-owned business is proving financially sustainable too, making it in environmentally-friendly, community-minded business with strong commercial acumen too.

Shortlist:

Casa Relvas
Domain Bousquet
Emiliana Organic Vineyards
Ferrari Trento
Trivento Bodegas y Viñedos
VIK

The Amorim Biodiversity Award

Winner: Vergelegen Estate

While there are many green-minded aspects to the running of Vergelegen’s vast South African estate – from water to energy self-sufficiency – it is the management of its near 2,000-hectare reserve that wowed the judges. Following the clearing of alien vegetation and extensive replanting of native tree species, the property has seen the emergence and proliferation of many endangered species, from bontebok to Burchell’s zebra. As for its vineyards, to protect biodiversity, it has been pioneering here too. Vergelegen is a world leader in combating grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3), the main cause of leafroll disease, spread by mealybugs. To do this, the estate has shifted to biological controls employing predatory indigenous insects, which are dispersed by drone over vineyards. The first stage is predatory wasps, attracted by a pheromone released by female mealybugs, followed by ladybugs, which eat the mealybugs.

Commendation: Emiliana Organic Vineyards

Although not a winner in this category, the judges wanted to recognise this Chilean producer for creating a protected biodiversity hotspot that now covers 30% of its estate, while also promoting species richness within its organic and biodynamic vineyards with regenerative farming practices.

Shortlist:

Emiliana Organic Vineyards
Familia Torres
Sogrape
Te Kano Estate
Vergelegen Estate

The Amorim Special Award

Winner: Emiliana Organic Vineyards

Building on an impressive 26 years of organic agriculture, fairtrade wine production and biodynamic vineyard practices is Chile’s Emiliana with a new initiative. Launched in 2024 with planned actions until 2030, it aims to make this beacon of sustainable drinks production even greener in three key areas.

One of these concerns viticulture, as Emiliana moves to getting certified biodynamic and regenerative organic; while at the same time promoting research to keep organic growing.

The second pillar is titled ‘planet protection’, which is focused on reducing Emiliana’s carbon footprint by moving to 100% renewable electricity, while improving biodiversity and turning all its packaging to reusable, recyclable or compostable materials.

The third pillar is ‘people and society’, which is focused on human development, with Emiliana going further on its ethical initiatives, as a longstanding Fairtrade wine producer, and, since 2023, a B-Corp certified company.

It’s due to this clear and worthy roadmap that Amorim chose to award Emiliana a ‘special award’ in the hope this green-minded business might prove a beacon for others.

Ethical Company of the Year

Winner: Bosman Family Vineyards

Two words in particular kept cropping up from our judges with regards to this South African producer – “inspiring” and “transformative”. Since 2008 Bosman has offered its farm workers a 26% stake in the business (the largest land reform deal to take place in SA thus far) but Bosman is now in “the final stages” of a government application to increase this to 34.5%. All about empowering the community through shared ownership in the company, and therefore shared prosperity, making the wine industry a more viable and attractive prospect for future generations and communities.

The Green Packaging Award

Winner: The Wine Society for its permanent range of flat PET bottles

The judges were agreed that this year’s award should go to The Wine Society for its “brave decision” to make a permanent addition to its wine range of four flat PET bottles. The judges were especially impressed that The Wine Society has chosen to bottle its best-selling wine in PET, underlining its commitment to the format and applauded that its wines bottled in PET were cheaper for the end consumer, demonstrating that sustainable practices don’t always come with a premium.

Commendation: Lanchester Wines for the First Super Lightweight 300g Wine Bottle

The judges decided to commend Lanchester Wines for the creation of a “very impressive” super lightweight 300g glass bottle for Aldi’s Koolibarra Sauvignon Semillon, which they said was clearly in response to consumer demand, and given the number of Aldi stores in the UK would be seen by countless consumers.

Green Retailer of the Year

Winner: The Wine Society

It was a close battle, but in the end, one retailer stood out for its remarkable, green-focused achievements in the past 12 months. Among these were the launch of a ‘sustainability hub’ to support wine producers; a move to solar-power for operations – providing over half of its current energy needs – and a 62% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions in the past three years. Added to this is a major bottle light-weighting initiative, and much more, including educational workshops on a range of topics, such as the benefits of a regenerative approaches to viticulture.

Commendation: Laithwaites

Very much deserving of a commendation in 2024 was Laithwaites, which has continued to progress in many areas, from encouraging its suppliers to protect soils and wildlife, as well as reducing packaging weights, to improving energy efficiency at this mail-order retailer’s facilities, while moving to renewables for powering warehousing. Adding to this is its brilliant WinePact, which allows users to calculate their carbon footprint and track their progress relative to industry benchmarks.

O-I: Expressions Green Company of the Year (wine / spirits)

Winner (wine): Adega do Ataíde

Impressing the judges sufficiently for them to declare it Wine Company of the Year for 2024 was Adega do Ataíde, primarily due to a new winery for its extensive Douro estate, which is owned by Symington Family Estates – a Port and wine producer with a strong ethical and environmental bent. Notably, this recently-completed building is LEED certified, an acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. And it has achieved the highest possible level, with a hard to achieve top ‘Platinum’ rating, which as one of judges said, means puts it among “just a handful of buildings” in the world. “It is a huge achievement”, said another judge, commenting that such an approach “should be inspire others: this is the type of project other wineries should look to”. But that wasn’t the only development that made this our winner this year. With a glass light-weighting programme and an investment in photovoltaic panels, the estate has also made a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, making its 100% organic vineyards the source of low-impact wines for the world.

Winner (spirits): Chivas Brothers

In an exciting and pioneering development, Chivas Brothers has successfully applied Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology to the whisky distillation process at its Glentauchers distillery. This means it is able to capture and recycle heat generated in the distillation process that would otherwise go to waste. Not only is this an industry first, but it is available to anyone, meaning that other distillers should benefit from this successful trial.

Described by the judges as a “ground-breaking piece of work” that “could have a huge impact on the Scotch whisky industry”, it was felt that Chivas Brothers were a worthy recipient of 2024’s award for Spirits Company of the Year. With the new technology helping the Pernod Ricard-owned facility reduce total energy consumption almost by half (48%), it has resulted in a 53% decrease in the site’s total carbon emissions. With this, Chivas Brothers has made significant headway towards its commitment to becoming carbon neutral in distillation by the end of 2026.

Commendation (wine): Laithwaites

The judges wanted to highly commend Laithwaites for its WinePact initiative, which allows producers to calculate their carbon footprint, as well as set targets and compare their performance to benchmarks for their sector. Not only does this impressive service set a new standard among retailers striving to help green the production of drinks, but it also employs cutting edge technology, such as Satellite Remote Sensing to assess the carbon content of vineyard soils. As one judge said, implying lessons from Laithwaites might encourage a wider greening of the trade, “Let’s hope other retailers will sit up and listen”.

Shortlist:

Adega do Ataíde
Chivas Brothers
Domaine Bousquet
Emiliana Organic Vineyards
Gonzales Byass
Laithwaites
Voyager Estate

Green Personality of the Year

Winner: Sebastián Tramon (head of sustainability at Emiliana Organic Vineyards)

This year, the judges chose to reward an “outlier” among the applicants, giving the green personality accolade to Sebastián Tramon, head of sustainability for Chilean wine company Emiliana. The panel felt there was something “extremely human” about him, and that he had been “in the thick of the storm at every level” regarding sustainability and the fight against climate change. Having previously worked for Greenpeace and the National Foundation for Poverty Alleviation before joining Emiliana 10 years ago, the judged called him “an impressive individual” who “lives and breathes the environment” and whose passion and enthusiasm for his work is evident. One judge added that “being inspiring to others can be a great achievement in and of itself”.

About our partners

The Green Awards 2024 was delighted to be conducted with the generous support of the the following partners:

Portuguese cork producer Amorim
UK Champagne and fine wine importer Pol Roger Portfolio
Glass bottle manufacturer, O-I Glass

The drinks business is also grateful to our eco-minded organic producers for the drinks at the ceremony, which came from:

Leoube – Provençal Rosé
Voyager Estate – Margaret River Chardonnay
Vina Emiliana – Amaluna sparkling wine and Animalia orange wine
Domaine Bousquet – Argentine Malbec

Finally, the drinks business is exceptionally grateful to our exacting judges, who are listed below:

Andrew Shaw
Anita Jackson
Anne Burchett
Anne Jones
Antony Moss MW
Ben Smith
Beth Kelly MW
Beverley Blanning
Chris Stroud
Clem Yates MW
Daniela Mateus
Fiona Campbell
Jonathan Pedley MW
Muriel Chatel
Phillip Tutt
Rebecca Murphy
Tom Owtram
Tom Cookman