In 2020, 231 wine estates or Bordeaux negociants were ISO 14001-certified.

Let’s start with a general definition! ISO certification (International Organization for Standardization) guarantees an international level of compliance for a product, service, organization or process.

ISO 14001 certification is more specifically concerned with environmental management, in other words:

• The way a company takes into account the environmental impact of its activities;
• How it evaluates this impact;
• How it reduces this impact.

This standard requires the company to continuously improve its environmental performance by managing the impact of its activities. The Environmental Management System (EMS) for Bordeaux wines offers collective support for those seeking to achieve ISO 14001 certification.

Find out more about this environmental standard on the AFNOR website!          

Rolled out since 2010, the Environmental Management System (EMS) for Bordeaux wines is a collective environmental initiative for the entire region based on volunteering, pooling efforts and sharing experiences. Its objective is to support the environmental transition and accelerate changing practices in the Bordeaux vineyards.

The EMS association for Bordeaux wines brings together nearly 400 companies of which 341 have received HEV and/or ISO 14001 certification.

The EMS is aimed at all companies in the Bordeaux wine industry (winegrowers, cooperative cellars or negociants) seeking to make a collective commitment towards environmental progress. The CIVB’s accredited tutors support them in their training, implementing their environmental strategy and defining their action plan.

When companies are ready, they can become members of the first EMS association for Bordeaux wine. By doing so, they enter the collective certification scheme to obtain High Environmental Value (HEV) certification and/or collective ISO 14001 certification.

The EMS groups together companies that wish to go above and beyond for the common cause of managing the environmental impact of the wine industry. Overcoming isolation, confronting situations in a friendly atmosphere and sharing experiences helps promote the emergence of new ideas and the pooling of best practices and resources.

Bordeaux wines are produced in a remarkable region made up of diverse terroirs with a unique climate and characteristics. Protecting soil life is our daily challenge: a vineyard that hosts various plant and animal species is an indicator of a healthy and balanced ecosystem.

That is why EMS companies are committed to implementing actions that support soil fertility by planting local species of hedges and shrubs along vineyard plots, sowing flowers on fallow land, using green fertilizers, maintaining ditches sustainably, planting grass cover, and more.

We’ve done it!

• 85% of vine plots planted with green cover in 2019;
• 223 km of hedges registered in 2023 throughout the collective;
• 60% of vines cultivated without herbicides in 2023;
• 288 beehives installed in vine plots in 2023;
• 15 hectares of melliferous plants to attract pollinating insects;
• 2 out of 3 products used are organically certified.

From sustainable energy consumption to recycling waste, controlling wastewater, protecting waterways and optimizing the use of plant protection products, EMS companies strive to reduce their environmental footprint.

Determining where their impact stems from helps them choose appropriate actions to move forward. Using precise monitoring indicators means that they can measure themselves against the collective's consolidated results!

We’ve done it!

• 20% reduction in water consumption on average per estate;
• 14% reduction in the Treatment Frequency Index (excluding herbicides) in 2023 compared to 2018;
• 19% reduction in the herbicide Treatment Frequency Index in 2023 compared to 2018;
• 34% of the area under vine treated using mating disruption (an alternative method to insecticides).