We are fully committed to reducing our carbon emissions and achieving “Net Zero” by 2050. For this, we are working with our partners to sustainably improve, and even transform, our practices. We are reducing the energy consumption of our production sites and switching our distilleries to renewable energies. We are rethinking the design of our bottles to reduce their impact and encourage new modes of consumption. We are optimising our flows, favouring the most environmentally friendly modes of transport and investing in those of the future.
"My dream is to have a circular solution adapted to each of our Maisons and our markets."
Beyond these actions, we also strive to closely support those countries where we are present by supporting solidarity-based climate actions that contribute to the environmental and energy transition.
Beyond these actions, we also strive to closely support those countries where we are present by supporting solidarity-based climate actions that contribute to the environmental and energy transition.
This commitment has underscored our ambition in terms of climate goals. In November 2021, at COP 26, we committed to validating reduction targets with the SBTi. We have joined the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” initiative, a coalition of international organisations and industry leaders who want to limit warming to +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era.
These goals were validated at the end of 2022, and we are proud to have been one of the first two global companies to validate FLAG targets, which will allow us to gauge the carbon sequestered in the soil alongside our traditional reduction actions.
This means a 42% reduction in emissions by our production sites (scope 1 & 2) and a 25% reduction for our main scope 3 levers (packaging and transport purchases) by 2030-2031. For our emissions specifically related to tillage (FLAG target), we are aiming for a 30% reduction.
These targets correspond to a 50% reduction in our carbon emissions per bottle by 2030.
By 2050, we are aiming for “Net Zero Carbon”, i.e. a reduction of 90% of the Group’s emissions, in absolute terms.
In our production sites, we strive to apply the same energy strategy: sufficiency, efficiency and development of renewables. In 2022/23, our French sites reduced their consumption by 8%, mainly through heating and electricity sufficiency actions.
38% of the energy consumed in 2022/23 was also from renewable sources (biogas, solar, wind, etc.). We aim for 100% renewable energy in 2030, with different solutions depending on our sites (solar in Barbados, biofuel and hydrogen in Scotland, biogas and steam in Cognac, etc.).
Finally, some actions in terms of energy efficiency are also promising: Maison Rémy Martin has tested preheating wines and brouillis at higher temperatures (from 40 to 50°) in order to reduce the amount of energy needed for distillation.
The deployment of such a sector-wide action could be an important source of energy efficiency in the years to come.
Secondary packaging can be an unnecessary layer around the product. At Rémy Cointreau, we are here aiming for Gift boxes, a bottle overpack that acts as protection, design feature or information on the product. We want to remove most of them, in order to focus on the primary packaging (the bottle), and thus save raw materials (paper-cardboard trees, plastics fossils, etc.), and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint.
That’s why we are committed to eliminating our secondary packaging. In March 2023, 78% of the Group’s bottles had none, compared to 21% in 2019. We are targeting 85% for 2025. While Telmont, Cointreau, or Belle de Brillet no longer use them, the very high-end brands such as Rémy Martin LOUIS XIII still use them, but have innovated with a cellulose box, made of recycled and recyclable materials.
We are pioneering this initiative that targets gift boxes in the world of wines and spirits and have been joined by other players in the sector.
Rémy Cointreau’s flagship program since 2022, #OneBottleForEternity assumes that glass and bottles are infinitely recyclable. It focuses on their circularity, with the aim of reducing emissions associated with their production, transport and distribution. The potential is undeniable: glass is 100% recyclable, but also reusable.
Three of our Maisons have launched a pilot project for the circularity of their bottles. Mount Gay is testing a deposit system: empty bottles are collected, cleaned and refilled. Objective: 30-40% reused bottles by 2025.
In the UK, our partner, ecoSPIRITS, is replacing Cointreau and Mount Gay single-use bottles with refillable 4.5-litre containers installed at our hospitality clients’ premises. The result is a virtual disappearance of bottles and overpacks and more storage capacity.
Finally, in 2022, our Maison LOUIS XIII launched “The infinity wheel”, a service that offers its clients the opportunity to refill the iconic crystal carafe an unlimited number of times in its LOUIS XIII stores, during a personalised ceremony.
Downstream, our transport accounts for 10% of the Group’s overall CO2 emissions which we are striving to reduce. In 2022/23 our carbon emissions are down 16% compared to last year (new reduction in air traffic, strong increase in rail, switch to biofuel for road transport, replacement of wooden pallets by “slip sheets”). In 2023, more than 80% of t/km is covered by maritime transport, 10 times less emitting than rail freight, 30 times less than road transport, 200 times less than air transport. But we want to push for more.
We also want to contribute to the decarbonisation of tomorrow’s maritime transport. After joining the NEOLINE consortium in 2021, we also support the coalition using the technology developed by ZEPHYR & Borea: cargo ships will be largely wind-powered, complemented by synthetic fuel (green hydrogen). The first containers are planned for 2025 and will reduce the emissions of the journey between France and the United States by at least 50%.
CEO OF ECOSPIRITS