PONTE IS OFFICIALLY SUSTAINABLE

A process lasting over a year has allowed the Ponte di Piave Winery to obtain the prestigious EQUALITAS certification to ensure proper global development while respecting the environment and human rights.

Ponte di Piave, 19 October 2023. After more than a year of thorough testing and rigorous audits, CSQA, a leading public certification body in the “agriculture” and “food and beverage” sector, has certified that the sustainability management system of Viticoltori Ponte complies with the SOPD EQUALITAS standard, drawn up in accordance with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The goals refer to fundamental issues for global development and aim to end poverty, fight inequality, deal with climate change, and build peaceful societies that respect human rights.
Sustainability is to be interpreted not as an unchangeable state or vision, but as an ongoing process that calls for the need to combine the three fundamental and inseparable dimensions, or pillars, of development:

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAR: correct use of environmental resources
THE SOCIAL PILLAR: respect for personal dignity and rights
THE ECONOMIC PILLAR: economic well-being and equality

These cornerstones enclose a set of requirements, also known as “Good Practices” (Good Vineyard Practices, Good Winery and Bottling Practices, Good Socio-Economic Practices, Good Communication Practices), which merge synergistically to obtain an effective and sustainable operation.
These concepts have always come naturally to Ponte, which in recent years has chosen to expedite its previously successfully undertaken process of improvement to ensure an approach that is as ethical as possible and focuses on worker and environmental well-being.

For a correct management and continuous improvement system, “Environmental Indicators” come into play alongside Good Practices. On this front, the company has proven its commitment to, amongst other things, reducing its carbon and water footprint by using renewable energy sources – especially solar energy, which is set to exceed 1,5 MegaWatts of power – and recovering heat and water from its refrigeration systems, facilitated by a consistent increase in organic farming with the utmost respect for biodiversity.

This has already been attested by another recently acquired certification, namely the National Integrated Production Management System (SQNPI) certification issued by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, providing enhanced consumer protection that is instantly recognisable thanks to the bee logo on labels.

“Balances shift rapidly, reminding us that nothing can be taken for granted. Only caring for our Planet and a healthy co-existence, focussing on cooperation rather than elimination, of all organisms can allow us to dream of a better future”.

Giancarlo Guidolin, Chairman, and Luigi Vanzella, General Manager of Viticoltori Ponte