Remy Cointreau: WWF, REMY COINTREAU, MOET HENNESSY and GENESIS are accelerating and accelerating the transition to regenerative agriculture.

Remy Cointreau: WWF, REMY COINTREAU, MOET HENNESSY and GENESIS are accelerating and accelerating the transition to regenerative agriculture.

From carbon credit to Europe’s first environmental credit: measuring the impact of regenerative agriculture to enhance the transition of the agricultural and wine sector.

“Regenerative agriculture is a system of principles and principles of agriculture that aims to restore and strengthen the entire ecological system of the farm from a sustainable perspective, including the improvement of human health and economic well-being. It is an agricultural method that places great emphasis on improving health of soil and improving the resources (soil, water, biodiversity, etc.) it uses.” (source: 4P1000)

In Paris, May 25, 2023 – “Making agriculture and farming environmental partners”. It is from this intention that the “loans for the environment” program was born between the soil health rating agency Genesis, the groups Rémy Cointreau, Moët Hennessy and the environmental NGO WWF.

The unique collaboration of these different players aims to develop more complete solutions to assess their environmental impacts and thus better value them. In concrete terms, the players have proposed an environmental payment model, based on additional carbon measures (biodiversity, plant hazards and soil health), which measures the value of the carbon credit to reflect the overall state of the environment.

The construction of this assignment depends on considering:

  • Impact on soil health, measured by Genesis, which includes its climatic, biological and proper management of the water/hydric cycle.

  • Health risk and environmental toxicity associated with hygiene treatments, measured by EcoClimaSol

  • Biodiversity on land (number of agro-ecological infrastructure (hedgerows, ponds), areas of agro-ecological interest (permanent mountains) and crop biodiversity (circulation, etc.)

This joint project has two goals. The first is environmental and involves going beyond the strict vision of carbon credit, by considering soils not as simple carbon sinks, but as a set of living systems that produce biodiversity. The second is social and economic: it is a question of creating the necessary levers, making it possible to support farmers massively in changing the environment, and thus creating a system of incentive payments. Therefore, this environmental payment becomes the first quantifiable measure of the co-benefits produced through regenerative agriculture methods and can be applied to any natural method of carbon credits (agriculture and forestry).

A first reference group made up of thirty French farmers and farmers started the project.

Full deployment is planned for 2024.

Yann Laurans, WWF’s Director of Biodiversity, says: “Carbon-rich soils, together with the agricultural and farmland biodiversity that pays for farmers, are natural capital and a necessary response to biodiversity and climate crises. It is therefore important to provide ways, as soon as possible, to encourage the improvement of farming methods or encourage good practices.

Sandrine Sommer, CSR Director of Moët Hennessy declares: “This system highlights our Living Soil Living Together initiative. Indeed, this environmental loan will allow us to measure and improve soil health and support our partners in the transition to regenerative practices by promoting efforts made to preserve biodiversity and the entire ecosystem. Moët Hennessy is happy to participate in this joint project which brings together dedicated players and which continues to strengthen the spirit of the World Congress of Organic Soils. »

Eric Vallat, Managing Director of the Rémy Cointreau Group declares: “The pressure of the future climate challenges require a vision of a split in agricultural matters. It is a matter of survival, but it is also a responsibility for the Group towards its agricultural partners to support them in this transition to ensure their sustainability. Like other innovations launched in Open Source and our brands, we hope that this environmental credit will be established and connect the whole profession quickly and widely. This is to preserve and strengthen the quality of our terroirs – and products ours – while ensuring that the legacy passed on to future generations will enable them to sustainably produce unique spirits.

Adrienne de Mallery, co-founder of Genesis declares: “In a context where many solutions are emerging to finance biodiversity, our solution has the virtue of combining reality, sustainability, transition, economic potential and environmental protection. in its entirety. »

About WWF France

WWF is one of the world’s leading independent environmental organizations. With an active network in more than 100 countries and the support of 6 million members, WWF works to stop the destruction of the planet’s natural environment and build a future where humans live in harmony with nature. , preserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring the sustainable use of renewable natural resources and promoting the reduction of environmental pollution and waste.

About Remy Cointreau

All over the world, there are customers looking for unique experiences, customers for whom the diversity of terroirs is accompanied by different tastes. Their needs correspond to our knowledge, this knowledge that we ensure the transmission, from generation to generation. The time these customers spend tasting our products is a tribute to all who worked to develop them. It is for these women and men that Rémy Cointreau, a French family group, protects its terroirs, grows only the spirits of many hundred years old and dedicates itself to preserving their eternal freshness. The Group’s portfolio includes 14 unique brands, including Rémy Martin & Louis XIII cognacs and Cointreau liqueur. Rémy Cointreau has only one goal: to be the world leader in exclusive spirits, and to do so depends on the dedication and creativity of its 1,924 employees and its distribution branches located in the group’s strategic markets. Rémy Cointreau is listed on Euronext Paris.

About Moët Hennessy

Moët Hennessy is the wine and spirits division of the LVMH group, which also owns famous wine estates grouped together within the “LVMH Vins d’Exceptions” entity. Bringing together twenty-six Houses, internationally recognized for the richness of their terroirs, the quality of their products and the craftsmanship they come from, Moët Hennessy has been committed for many years to the environmental and social program, “Live Soil Live Together.”.

About Genesis

Genesis is an environmental impact assessment agency. His project involves the development of an identifiable soil health rating based on scientific observations of soil ecosystem functioning, which provides actionable data for companies to improve their environmental impact.