FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & CRS
Jade Taulier, Laure Malleville and Yoanna Bajon
QUALITY, HYGIENE, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT,
IT'S WHOLE PROGRAM !
Laure, you joined Rhonéa in January 2023 as the Head of QSE (Quality, Safety & Environment). Could you explain the main missions of your department ?
The main missions of our department are divided into four categories, but all revolve around continuous improvement.
Quality: The priority is to satisfy all our clients by guaranteeing a high level of standards from the vineyard to the bottle, and also to respond to specific requests.
Hygiene : Quality cannot exist without the hygiene of our facilities. It is crucial to adhere to best practices to offer an impeccable product.
Safety: Rhonéa must provide its employees with the best working conditions in terms of safety and health.
Environment : We ensure that our operations do not negatively impact the environment and protect nature so that it can give us its best. The role of the QHSE team is to instill this culture on a daily basis and to do everything possible to help all employees embrace this dynamic.
This year, there was a major challenge taken on by your department: the renewal of the Vignerons Engagés certification for the Beaumes de Venise and Vacqueyras wineries, and the initial evaluation for the Rasteau and Visan wineries. Can you explain what this certification entails and how it was implemented across all our sites ?
The “Vignerons Engagés” label is based on a demanding set of specifications and a holistic vision built on four fundamental pillars. More than just an environmental label, it’s a true philosophy of sustainability that is advocated. The challenge was to work with the specificities of each cellar, which we were determined to preserve. In practical terms, we started from the previous assessment to define the actions. They were then prioritized based on the progress of each one in order to implement them. We also received support from the Vineyard Service, which worked hard to obtain the certification because, under the guidance of Marion Desoutter, in charge of environmental certifications a large number of diagnostics were carried out on the plots of our Artisan Winegrowers.
The “Vignerons Engagés” certification also involves adhering to the ISO26000 standard, which is the first international standard in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Our entire approach is based on respecting the PDCA (Plan – Do – Check – Act) cycle, meaning ‘Plan, Do, Verify, Act’.
What is the benefit for our Wineries to be certified “Vignerons Engagés"?
“Vignerons Engagés” is the first label in Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development in the wine sector. As such, the certification evaluates all practices, from vine to glass, to ensure the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of our activity. This is why it’s so interesting because it is comprehensive. Every employee, every Winegrower can act at their level to improve our practices.
Every three years, one or two evaluators come to assess the progress of our approach and give a grade corresponding to a level of maturity. Halfway through (that is, after 18 months), the evaluator returns for a ‘dry run’ evaluation. This allows us to understand where we stand and if we need to adjust any points before the actual audit. We are currently at level 3 out of 4 (confirmed) and, of course, aim to reach level 4 in the long term !
Another essential aspect of this label is that it allows us to be part of a collective. And being part of a collective means exchanging with our colleagues, cooperatives, independent producers, and trading houses, in order to improve our practices and assist us in the implementation of various actions. It’s a project aimed at uniting our winegrowers and employees around a single approach. Not to forget, it helps us meet our customers’ CSR demands and reassures our consumers about our sustainable efforts."
Can you tell us about the progress in the organic and HVE (High Environmental Value) conversion of our vineyard ?
Today, 68% of our vineyrards are “HVE” certified (High Environmental Value) and 20% are organic or in conversion. Currently, many environmental certifications exist: HVE, TerraVitis, Agriconfiance, Organic, Demeter… and it’s starting to get confusing for everyone. That’s why it’s important for us to focus on the Vignerons Engagés label as the foundation of our environmental approach.
What are the challenges and projects for your department in 2024 ?
We will continue the documentation simplification initiated in 2023. This simplification facilitates the work of the teams and optimizes the transmission of information. Maintaining our IFS certification, which assesses the compliance of wines in terms of safety and quality, is one of the department’s prerequisites. Organic audits also mark the course of the year. But the most important challenge is the management of the QHSE (Quality, Hygiene, Safety & Environment) system, especially the implementation of ‘causeries’ internally, brief moments of sharing between my team and a department on a specific topic, as well as inspections and reporting. And to end the year 2024 on a high note, we will undergo our “Vignerons Engagés” renewal audit !