Taking the necessary steps to becoming a company that’s moving in the right direction on sustainability is a daunting concept, however highly motivated you might be. 

It can feel like a steep mountain to climb – not to mention prohibitively expensive. But we need to remember that it’s a journey not a destination, and by collaborating and sharing our expertise, it needn’t be the big, scary monster in the room. 

At Denomination we break down the route to sustainability into bite-sized chunks, and deal with the short-, medium- and long-term elements as they arise in an objective and category-focused way. With a network built up over 20 years in the drinks sector, we’re in a great position to provide the best advice as a trusted, expert partner.

The challenge is real, and when it comes to sustainability, the drinks industry is on the frontline. The tiniest stresses to the environment have a much more catastrophic effect on grape growers, for example, than they do on farmers in more hardy sectors. 

From South Africa and Australia to France and California, growers and winemakers are seeing the effects of climate change as temperatures rise, and they’re moving to cooler zones or planting varieties that do better in warmer climes. It’s not only the wine industry having to acclimate, climate change is also affecting the arable crops used by brewers and distillers – especially concerning to premium manufacturers with stricter provenance guidelines.

The next phase for our industry needs to be focused on breaking things down and understanding the role we each must play – as businesses and individuals – in futureproofing our sector. 

Understanding and achieving circularity

If we get it right, circular thinking will lead to greater prosperity in the future. For too long, we human beings have adopted a linear approach – take, make, dispose, start again. By taking our lead from the natural world, where we ensure that raw materials are sourced sustainably, we reduce the level of extraction in the first place and everything, even after its lifetime, becomes a resource for something else, we can secure a brighter future.

That means thinking about how the goods we create today can provide the resources of tomorrow, and how we can replace our throwaway culture with one that focuses on returning, recycling and renewing.

Throughout our futureproof program to circularity, which looks at material extraction, product manufacture, packaging, transport, use and end of life, we engage with suppliers and experts to develop the best approach for each business. And we make sure that client stakeholders are up to speed, too, because it’s essential that all parties buy in to what’s happening if it’s going to succeed.

Perhaps most importantly, this process is about bringing everything and everyone together. It’s not about one company changing one thing. We need to collaborate and share what we have learnt so that we all move in the right direction and futureproof our sector together.

Look out for next week’s blog, where we talk about staying on top of the sustainability agenda and being vigilant about shifting rules and regs, and the importance of having a partner that can help you to keep your business on track.