Pernod Ricard joins RE100

Pernod Ricard's overarching sustainability strategy bears the tagline: 'Good Times from a Good Place' 

The decision will see the Group move towards 100% renewable electricity on its production sites and administrative offices by 2025. It sees the company join 221 firms that have committed to renewable electricity across the RE100 group – more than double the original number that the Climate Group expected to sign up.

The announcement builds on the 30 other targets in the Group’s Sustainability & Responsibility roadmap Good Times from a Good Place, which was originally produced in April 2019. The roadmap includes plans to reduce absolute carbon emissions of production sites by 30% by 2030, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, in line with the below 2°C scenario.

The company has notably committed to reducing the overall intensity of its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030, as part of the SBTi – originally committed in September 2018. The company is also targeting improved water use in high-risk watersheds, such as India and Australia, and will replenish 100% of the water used in its production sites.

Successful projects

Pernod Ricard Group’s Australian wine brands business, which includes Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo and Wyndham Estate, has already reached 100% renewable electricity, with all sites using power from the commissioning of more than 10,300 solar panels in its two vineyards in the Barossa Valley. Collectively, these panels produce 4,000MWh annually – the largest solar power generation facility in the industry. A 10-year agreement with Flow Power for renewable electricity production has also been signed off.

Additionally, Pernod Ricard Finland’s Turku site, which produces a number of spirits and liqueurs including Minttu, Lapponia and Suomi, is now certified as Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutral. It runs on 100% renewable electricity from wind power and is attached to both environmentally certified district heating and an electricity plant operating with processed wood chips.

In France, Pernod Ricard recently signed the Renewable Energy Option with EDF Entreprises. Under this agreement, the energy provider undertakes to produce and release 32,000 MWh of renewable energy to the grid, to match the annual consumption of Pernod Ricard’s 42 production and administrative sites in France.

Pernod Ricard Group’s vice president for sustainability and responsibility Vanessa Wright said: ‘’Our commitments to renewable electricity come within the framework of our efforts to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the ten principles of the UN Global Compact for responsible business.

“As testified by the initiatives implemented in Australia, Finland and France, the entire Group is geared towards our ambitious roadmap aimed at achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2025.’’

Ricard recently featured on edie’s Green Room podcast, discussing Pernod Ricard Group’s overarching strategy and providing fascinating insight into her career. You can listen to that episode here. 

James Evison