Ridgeview launches its first B Corp Impact Report
Sussex producer pledges to be carbon neutral by 2030
Ridgeview has celebrated its first anniversary of achieving B Corp status by launching its first impact report. At the time of achieving Corp certification in 2022, Ridgeview was one of only 25 wineries in the world to join this a global community of purpose-driven businesses. This first impact report outlines the winery’s core commitments and future pledges to enable their vision of being carbon neutral by 2030. Their pledge also comes as the business completes its biggest harvest ever which will enable their current expansion plans to double production within the next five years.
Ridgeview’s impact report outlines the company’s sustainability commitments that have already led the business to be carbon negative across Scope 1 and 2 emissions by annually sequestering 100 tonnes of CO2e across the estate. Priorities that have been implemented include investment in a new winery with equipment to significantly reduce waste and energy, new grape picking bins to cut transport emissions, installing 100 new solar panels to increasing use of green energy, natural temperature controlled underground cellars, Biobubble that naturally cleans all waster water and setting up a green team to get employees on board.
Commitment and priorities to the local community include a focus on supporting local sport, local education and charitable donations to organisations such as Table Talk who promote food education in Sussex schools. Recent investments include enhancing their tourism offering with a new onsite restaurant, The Rows & Vine, built using sustainable design principles and set within a biodiversity-rich garden of native plants reflective of their place within the South Downs national park.
B Corp is underpinned by a philosophy of balancing people, planet and profit, using business as a force for good. Ridgeview who has prioritised sustainability since onset, set its eyes on becoming B Corp once the business realised the 360 degree approach this global movement places on sustainability.
CEO of Ridgeview Tamara Roberts who instigated the path to B Corp certification commented: “B Corp is not about words, it’s about actions and lots of them – small steps of continuous improvement across all impact areas. We are resolute that growth must not come at the expense of our ethics as a business for good. We want to be a true industry leader, sharing our knowledge and practices, as we have since we started Ridgeview in 1995. Only by working together will we have any chance of changing the world – and preserving it for generations to come.”
With a future sustainable mindset Ridgeview’s actions are being recognised, one of only four companies to be awarded a Gold for Green South Downs Sustainability in tourism, runner-up in Drinks Business Green Company of the Year, and Environmental Culture of the Year in the Gatwick Diamond awards.
Roberts continues, “For Ridgeview, becoming a B Corp is much more than a certification; it is an opportunity to join a network of like-minded brands paving the way for global sustainability movement.”
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