Eric Asimov recently featured Saskia de Rothschild in an article regarding their B Corp Certification, titled “Why Are Wineries Around the World Seeking this Certification?” in the NY Times. Certificates of social and environmental responsibility, like B Corp status, have become important markers for wineries that place values front and center. Far less attention has been paid over the years to how wineries treated the people who are doing the actual farming and production work. It’s been an enormous oversight, particularly as agricultural workers continue to be prime targets for exploitation. More and more wineries are seeking B Corp certification from B Lab, which promotes the notion that companies benefit by working for both profits and the social good. Roughly 100 wineries worldwide have B Corp certification (including Champagne Bollinger).
Ms. Rothschild said it is as important for wine estates to state their social convictions as it is their environmental commitments. B Corp seemed the most complete and exhaustive commitment to our environmental and social goals. B Corp’s own studies show that a majority of consumers agree that environmental and social certifications make a difference in their decisions.
B Corp - The New York Times