Denbies gets B Corp certification

Surrey Hills-based Denbies Wine Estate has become B Corp certified only months after receiving net zero accreditation.

The producer began the process in May 2023, and has followed in the footsteps of other wine businesses such as Sussex firm Rathfinny.

As part of the process, the company had each element of its business operation scrutinised, including governance, its workforce and community, environment and also customer benefits.

Non-profit organisation B Lab Companies administers the B Corp certification process and highlights how companies should ‘balance profit and purpose’ – namely social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, alongside a commitment to goals beyond shareholder value.

Only organisations who meet the highest level of sustainable business practice achieve B Corp status, it states.

Denbies Wine Estate is based in Dorking in the Surrey Hills, and is one of England’s largest single estate vineyards. Totalling 400 acres, it includes 265 acres under vine and surrounding woodland. It said that for all new capital investment in the business, best practise in environmental consideration would be adopted.

Denbies becomes the second business on the estate, joining Chimney Fire Coffee, who certified B Corp in July 2022.

Deliberate investment

Chris White, CEO of Denbies said it was delighted with the news, and it had “deliberately invested” in a “responsible, sustainable approach to business”

He said: “The B Corp application process enabled us to focus, document and verify our commitment to best practise. Customer awareness and demand for sustainable business practices has never been greater.

“Alongside our Net Zero accreditation earlier in the year, we view this as a benchmark to develop and share our company ethos to the best of our abilities. Becoming a B Corp accredited business and being an early adopter of this global movement to meet exacting standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability is tremendously importance to us as an independently run company.”

Waitrose, which the producer has a long affiliation alongside, endorsed the certification, stating that it was “something our customers look to us for”.

A spokesperson said: “B Corp products show that people can get exceptional quality, without costing the earth. Feedback from customers has been really positive, as B Corp products help them source excellent products with lower environmental impact, without any extra fuss.”

Net zero

The news follows the estate getting net zero accreditation earlier this year.

For that scheme, all parts of Denbies’ wine production process, including bottling and transportation as well as viticultural methods in the vineyards, and the vines’ habitats and soil, had to comply with framework set out by the UK Carbon Code of Conduct (UKCCC) in order to be certified net zero.

Rather than simply buying carbon credits, the status enables firms to become truly carbon positive through reducing the real carbon footprint across all areas of its business.

Denbies’ most recent assessment shows a carbon balance of -96 tonnes of CO2e, demonstrating that the business sequestered more carbon dioxide than it emitted.

Other producers which have achieved the same goal include Ross Hill in Australia and Fetzer Winery in California, both of which hit the target in 2016. Both were also the first wine producer in their respective country to achieve Carbon Neutral status.