To Nourish The Land We Share

Objective

The land:

To produce only certified new organic products from 2021 and to ensure all products are certified organic from 2023.
To ensure all farming partners are certified organic by 2023.
To ensure all intake is 100% organic and traceable by 2025.
To cease the use of pesticides by 2030.
To launch a regenerative soil programme in Poland.

Water: To reduce wasted water disposal by 40% 2024.

Energy and GHG emissions:

To reduce the energy input for the boiler house by 20% by 2021.
To reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2022.
To become fully energy carbon neutral in 2022.
To convert the distillation by-product into fuel by 2022.
To use 100% renewable energy by 2025.
To supply the city's power network with green energy produced in-house from 2025.
To help its agricultural partners move to 0% coal dependency by 2025.

Sustainable Packaging:

To eliminate 100 % of single-use plastic by 2022.
To reduce the use of plastic and increase the use of recycled plastic by 50% by 2025.
To increase the use of recycled glass by 2025.

Collaborations: To leverage non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and university collaborations for greater water protection and efficiencies, including protecting the natural environment of the local Pisia-Gągolina river and designing new technical solutions to reduce water consumption.

Description

Belvedere aim to nurture and protect the land for future generations to enjoy. To deliver on this imperative, they have a set of commitments which includes key initiatives under three umbrellas: green energy, organic products, and sustainable packaging.

The land

Belvedere is driven from an inherent respect for the land. Polish rye is the main ingredient in their vodka and maintaining the health and durability of sources for their grain is of the utmost importance. Belvedere ensures their agriculture partners use organic farming strategies and aim to cease the use of pesticides by 2030. Belvedere is also planning to help restore local landscapes through a regenerative soil programme which will protect the natural character of agricultural terroirs.

Also, since 2021 all product innovations are organic and since 2023 all products are fully organic. Finally, to ensure all intake is 100% organic and traceable, Belvedere has been sourcing all its ingredients from certified and traceable local organic sources since 2021. This includes 100% organic-certified diamond rye.

Water

Belvedere source their water locally including from their wells. They are working towards reducing wasted water disposal by 40% by the end of 2024. This will contribute to an overall 27% reduction of water sourced from their wells.

Renewable Energy Solutions and GHG emissions

The energy consumed during spirit production is generally significant, but Belvedere is strongly committed to green energy and the site has been the subject of numerous initiatives to improve its energy consumption. For example, by substituting natural gas for fuel oil, the site achieved a 30% reduction in its GHG emissions between 2012 and 2013 and a 42% reduction between 2012 and 2017. Also, in 2016, improvements to the distillation process reduced gas consumption by 3.7% in one year, reducing CO2 emissions by 111 metric tons. Gas consumption was further reduced by 7% in 2017.

Biomass Capture Facility: In 2018, Belvedere was the first spirits distillery to receive a grant from the European Commission to pilot a biomass capture facility on site. The biomass facility was inaugurated in 2021. It captures production and waste from the distillation process to produce 100% renewable energy.
Solar panels: In 2023, Belvedere installed solar panels as a supplementary renewable energy solution at the distillery.
Working with local communities: Belvedere is working on a plan to supply the city’s power network with the green energy produced in-house from 2025. In addition, they are helping their agricultural partners to move from 100% to 0% coal dependency by 2025.

Sustainable Packaging

Sustainable packaging is a critical priority for Belvedere and aim to reduce the quantity of secondary and packaging material, reduce plastic use, improve recyclability for materials, and have long-life solutions rather than one-time use. To help achieve this they have implemented eco-design for all new products and point of sale materials (POSM). Also, vendors throughout the supply chain must abide by a 100% green code of conduct.

Belvedere have also begun reducing plastic from its shippers and eliminated plastic straws from its events. In addition, in 2022, they reworked their vodka buckets to make them recyclable, opting for more eco-friendly materials and decoration processes. The buckets are made from PP (polypropylene) rather than ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) with recycled content. Solvent-free paint replaced solvent-based paint for the decoration. The ring that was previously painted with solvent-based paint is now bulk-dyed and is clipped into place rather than glued. The finished product can be recycled, and the different components separated at end-of-life.

Collaborating with NGOs and universities

Rye Programme: The programme was launched in 2008 in partnership with the Technical University of Lodz to carry out research on sustainable rye cultivation.
Raw Spirit Programme: Launched in 2014 with local pure alcohol suppliers, the progamme seeks to guarantee and improve the quality of Polish raw spirits; ensure farming methods respect the environment and secure a local supply of rye.
The Foundation for Natural Environmental Protection: In 2015, Belvedere co-founded the Foundation for Local Environmental Protection with local farmers and the City of Zyrardów, where it is based. The aim is to protect the natural environment of the local Pisia-Gągolina river. In 2022, a safeguard and restoration plan was introduced which includes ensuring the cleanliness of the water and banks of the River.

Partners

City of Zyrardów.

Moët Hennessy (Belvedere Vodka is owned by Moet Hennessy which is ultimately controlled by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuittonn LVMH).

Technical University of Lodz.

Results

Results as of December 2023

The Land

To produce only certified new organic products from 2021 and to produce all products certified organic from 2023. Achieved. In May 2021, Belvedere released their first certified-organic vodka range. All products were certified organic in 2023.
To ensure all farming partners are certified organic by 2023. Achieved.
To ensure all intake is 100% organic and traceable by 2025. Achieved. Belvedere has been sourcing all its ingredients from certified and traceable organic sources since 2021. The rye is sourced from eight local agricultural partners, enabling 100 % traceability of the grain.
To cease the use of pesticides by 2030. No information on progress
To launch a regenerative soil programme in Poland. No information on progress.

Water: No information on progress made.

Energy and GHG emissions:

To reduce the energy input for the boiler house by 20% by 2021. Achieved. The biomass facility reduced energy consumption by 20% in 2021.
To reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2022. Achieved. The biomass facility reduced GHG emissions by 80% in 2021 and has since achieved a 95% reduction. ln 2022, the biomass facility reduced 4,800 tonnes of carbon emissions during its first full year in operation.
To become fully energy carbon neutral in 2022. 95% carbon neutral in 2022.
To convert the distillation by-product into fuel by 2022. Achieved in 2021 (biomass facility).
To use 100% renewable energy by 2025: In 2023, the biomass facility and 600 solar panels (which generate upwards of 300 kWp) generate produced enough renewable energy to cover 97% of energy needs.
To supply the city's power network with green energy produced in-house from 2025. No information on progress made.
To help its agricultural partners move to 0% coal dependency by 2025. No information on progress made.

Sustainable Packaging:

To eliminate 100 % of single-use plastic by 2022. By 2022, Belvedere had eliminated 95% of single use plastic from their supply chain.
To reduce the use of plastic and increase the use of recycled plastic by 50% by 2025. No information on progress made.
To increase the use of recycled glass by 2025. No information on progress made.
2022 new bucket: The bucket is made with 30% recycled content (recycled virgin scrap). It is almost 23% lighter than its predecessor, weighing 980g instead of 1.27kg. This 290g savings enables shipment weight to be reduced by one ton for a full container.

Collaborations with NGOs and universities:

Pisia-Gągolina river: In 2022, a safeguard and restoration plan was introduced which includes ensuring the cleanliness of the water and banks of the river.
Technical solutions to reduce water consumption: No information on progress made.

Measurement & evaluation

Certifications

Since 2023 all products are certified organic which ensures that the ingredients are farmed with no artificial pesticides, additives, or chemicals.

In 2017, the distillery was awarded ISO 50001 certification, which focuses on improving energy efficiency.

Since 2007, the distillery is ISO 14000 certified which relates to environmental management: ensuring that operations do not negatively affect the environment, complying with applicable laws & regulations and continuous improvement.

The distillery has also been certified by BREEAM International and LEED as a sustainably built environment.

Awards

In 2022, Belvedere was awarded the Positive Luxury Material and Manufacturing Innovation of the Year award. The Positive Luxury award is given to a material supplier or manufacturing business that has demonstrated innovation anywhere from design, research and development, production, supply chain and logistics management through to end-of-life management.

In 2017, Belvedere received the Gold for Sustainability for the third year running from the International CSR Excellence Awards (ICSR).

Website

https://www.BelvedereVodka.com

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