Premium Prosecco brand La Marca has be accredited with an Equalitas Sustainability Certification, a major milestone for the fifty-year-old company, which it argues can have a big impact for its growers.
The certification is one of the most comprehensive sustainability protocols for the wine industry as it analyzes the sustainability of a company through the analysis of three indicators: economic, social and environmental. The wide-ranging accreditation was established in 2015 by Federdoc and Unione Italiana Vini.
The aim of the distinction is to not only guarantees transparency but also stimulate the winery to continuously improve, representing additional protection for consumers as well as a sign of respect and long-term commitment with the territory.
La Marca’ a president Valerio Cescon said that as a cooperative winery, sustainability has been a part of the company’s DNA since it was founded back in 1968 and made social responsibility a core part of its corporate mission.
“Achieving this goal has allowed us to come full circle, a virtuous path that our founding members undertook with foresight more than 50 years ago, believing that through the production of high-quality wines it was possible to create the conditions for a more secure future for our community,” he said.
The scheme takes into account all phases of the production chain, with areas such as the water and carbon footprint of products, worker compensation and rights, the prices of raw materials used, as well as the winery’s relations with the local area all being analyzed and measured.
The size and scale of the Oderzo-based winery – which includes 8 associated wineries, 5,000 wine-growing members and more than 15,000 hectares of vineyards scattered throughout the Prosecco region – means it can have a huge impact the community through investments and good management practices, the company argued.
Cescon indicated that it was not time for the company to rest on its laurels.
“While being acknowledged as a sustainable winery is an accomplishment that makes us proud it does not represent an endpoint for us, but is rather part of a path with solid roots in the past,” he said.
