d’Arenberg, Detmold unveil new sustainability targets

Two of the state’s iconic family-owned brands have unveiled new sustainability targets as the decarbonisation push across industries accelerates.

Chester Osborn from d’Arenberg, which has set a goal of becoming net zero by 2035. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Two of the state’s iconic family-owned brands have unveiled new sustainability targets as the decarbonisation push across industries accelerates.

McLaren Vale wine company d’Arenberg has set the goal of becoming net zero by 2035, in line with targets set for wine growers and producers by industry group Australian Grape & Wine.

Meanwhile packaging company Detmold has outlined six sustainability objectives designed to reduce its emissions, including by keeping waste out of landfill and adopting a greater use of renewable energy.

The company has a goal of reaching its “positive impact targets” by 2025.

They include diverting 95 per cent of waste from landfill across all production facilities, reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30 per cent per kilogram of product, and developing renewable energy sources at three facilities.

Detmold’s Sascha Detmold Cox. Picture: Supplied

Acting chief executive Sascha Detmold Cox said the first annual report measuring against the targets would be provided at the end of the year.

“The sustainability objectives set by the Detmold Group showcase our strong commitment to sustainable packaging, which benefits our clients, their customers and most importantly the environment,” she said.

“We are taking the current standing of the Detmold Group and measuring it against these six positive impact targets, as well as aligning with progressive targets for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years.”

Ms Detmold Cox said two of the six targets directly aligned with wider national packaging targets set by the federal government and industry in 2018.

Detmold was one of the first signatories to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), the group charged with facilitating the delivery of the industry’s sustainability targets, which apply to all packaging that is made, used and sold in Australia.

Ms Detmold Cox has stepped in as acting chief executive following the departure of Conrad Groenewald earlier this month after two years with the business.

Meanwhile d’Arenberg’s net zero target also aligns with a broader industry-wide decarbonisation push, and comes as the company achieves formal certification as a sustainable wine producer.

The company has been certified as a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) - a national program allowing grape growers and winemakers to demonstrate and improve their sustainability credentials.

d’Arenberg is also working with Reconciliation Australia to create its first Reconciliation Action Plan, which fourth-generation winemaker Chester Osborn said would “help foster unity and mutual respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and wider Australia”.

“Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond our environmental footprint,” he said.

“Together with our SWA certification and carbon net zero emissions target, we are taking significant steps towards our ongoing journey of sustainability and reconciliation.”

The latest annual report released by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia shows there was a 48 per cent increase in membership last financial year, with more than 1150 vineyards, wineries and wine businesses signing up to the program, representing 40 per cent of total wine production in Australia.

Mr Osborn said d’Arenberg’s commitment to sustainability was evident in its ongoing production practices, such as using traditional winemaking methods, employing organic and biodynamic practices, and maintaining biodiversity on the company’s estate.