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Press release

Champagne: A special study identifies the levers that support the sector’s sustainable transition

Published on 26 March 2024 by Dominique

While Champagne was the first wine region to assess its carbon footprint in 2003, the climate emergency today forces it to ramp up its efforts. How can the ecological transition move beyond just a retail strategy and turn into a far-reaching transformation for the sector? What are the different approaches to encourage this transition? To respond to these concerns, the Chair in Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development at NEOMA, in partnership with Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, conducted a unique study, the results of which aim to support all the players in the profession. Training stakeholders, expanding the application of experiments and developing a virtuous circular system that promotes new practices are the key levers to achieving the sector’s sustainability ambitions.

 Champagne confronts the shift towards sustainability

Like many other sectors, the champagne sector is currently experiencing pressure from two areas: the increasingly marked effects of climate change and higher demands among consumers who seek out healthy and environmentally friendly products. To take on these challenges, the sector has a solid partner.

As Olivier Vimard, member of the executive board of Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, explains, “Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, with its strong presence through its regions, supports all the stakeholders of Champagne who work responsibly to carry out the environmental transition. In this context, we provide all of our expertise as well as numerous green solutions, making up a unique collective for an exceptional territory. For our bank, being useful means helping with the ecological transition in the Champagne ecosystem to build a sustainable future”.

In this context, how can the ecological transition move from a simple retail strategy and turn into a profound transformation for the sector? How can a collective drive be instilled in the region’s winegrowers and producers, one that promotes the sector’s ecological transition while preserving the diversity of the different organisations and the individual aspects within the sector? To support the profession’s stakeholders as they face these challenges, the Chair in Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development at NEOMA, in partnership with Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe, has carried out a unique study. “Today, innovation and sustainability are the major challenges because the stakes lie in Champagne keeping its place as a source of inspiration for the entire winemaking industry, in France and around the world”, said Nicolas Béfort, director of the chair. “This study seeks to inform the considerations currently examined in the sector, which is already very involved with the issue”.

The champagne sector: 3 profiles of organisations and 2 approaches

Over a three-year period, the study highlighted three categories of organisations more or less advanced in this transition process (see the insert below): the pioneering winemakers who have been heavily involved for the past ten years, the winemakers new to this process who started their transition under five years ago and the winemakers at the head of the small estates who very recently have made the shift towards sustainable production.

This study, which is based on an analysis of the database and a vast interview campaign conducted with players in the sector, also showed that there are currently two approaches to strategic reorientation among champagne professionals:

  • The puzzle approach: the environmental transition is handled independently, looking at the separate producing factors of greenhouse gas emissions (farming, glass, packaging, transport, etc.) and divided up into measureable objectives. “This reorientation often requires trade-offs between the brand identity and sustainability challenges, with doubts over consumer perception”, Nicolas Béfort said. “This strategy is implemented particularly among large producers who are able to invest in R&D to streamline the process and develop specific action plans”.
  • The holistic approach: sustainability is viewed as an overall transition process, with focus mainly placed on production methods. The evaluation of production practices is verified through labels that structure the professions (HEV certification, Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne VDC label, BIO label). “These different labels offer comprehensive standards for the best environmental practices with the development of tools and methods. It has an impact on all the positions”.

These different types of strategic reorientations and profiles of organisation could create fears over a division among players in the sector. However, the study shows that the two approaches coexist among champagne producers and that they are both value creators. What is more, this long-standing strategy in the sector, which was established on the idea of its heritage that needed protection, has become for champagne a major competitive advantage. “The collective of producers plays a determining role through a very organised inter-professional organisation that for a long time has acted on behalf of the Champagne brand. All the players interviewed have emphasised the need to promote collective intelligence and participatory innovation”, Nicolas Béfort said.

Three recommendations to accelerate champagne’s ecological transition

This study also reveals three recommendations to accelerate the implementation of sustainable practices for champagne.

  • Training winegrowers and producers in the communication of knowledge in all stages of research and development is one of the main levers, via the distribution of relevant tools and identification of successful transition paths, which serve as models. “The involvement of cooperatives and existing networks is vital in promoting the diffusion of best practices”.
  • Expanding the standardised application of the experiments is also crucial, particularly through the creation of an experiments record as well as an inventory of experimental practices. “One of the paths identified in the study is the duplication of experiments in the different locations of the vineyard involving the same process”, Nicolas Béfort said. “The final goal is to apply the experiments is a wider-reaching, more standardised way”.
  • Developing circular systems that create new activities and support achieving carbon neutrality objectives is the third recommendation identified in the study.

Three profiles of organisations in Champagne

Among these organisations, the study also highlights three categories of organisations that are more or less advanced in the transition process.

The pioneering winemakers. They have been committed for at least ten years. These producers are in a position to buy sustainable grapes and still wine. “This category of winemaker has a solid ability to structure the community of practice and transfer knowledge formally and informally”, said Nicolas Béfort.

Newly involved winemakers. They started the transformation on their estate less than five years ago, but their drive infuses a heightened desire to develop the sector. Their experiments mainly focus on re-establishing biodiversity, various grape cultivation and winemaking methods, and the production’s carbon footprint. “These winemakers today face three types of pressure”, Nicolas Béfort said. “First, they often have to choose between making the production completely green or only a part of it, in accordance with two of the possible strategic reorientations. Then, they question whether to stop the transformation after obtaining a label or to continue the process for continuous improvement purposes. Lastly, they face the problem of whether to create a specific brand or keep the existing brand”.

Winemakers with small estates. They are mainly winegrowers-producers. They have a smaller cultivation area than the other groups and they started converting to organic farming recently in response to an increase in the demand for sustainable grapes. “The cooperatives and the House of Champagne play a key role in furthering the transition in this group”, said Nicolas Béfort.+