Having recently judged the Sustainable Wine Buyer category in the Wine Buyer Awards, I’ve been reflecting on the increasing importance of sustainability for buyers, and the challenge of navigating the complex balance of commercial KPIs against personal or corporate sustainability goals. After two decades in the Waitrose drinks buying team, I’m also mindful of the shifting priorities between traditional buying and other objectives for both retail and hospitality.
Defining Sustainability in Wine Buying
Buyers are the lynchpin between producers, supply chain, marketing, and the consumer. As the saying goes, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ From their position, they have visibility across the supply chain, aligning with Scope 3 reporting, from vineyard to glass and beyond. However, systemic change isn’t the responsibility of a single individual—it requires collaboration across the industry.
Sustainability can be viewed in different ways: resilience to ensure long-term industry survival or a more ‘regenerative’ model that replenishes environmental, social, and economic capital. Two of the biggest challenges for buyers are how to substantiate sustainability claims (and minimise their own exposure) and how to prioritise actions that will have the biggest impact within their sphere of influence.
Materiality: Prioritising Impact
Materiality is about understanding the most significant sustainability risks and opportunities. Climate-related risks—drought, fire, floods, and disease—already threaten producers’ viability. Buyers can address these challenges by assessing their Scope 3 carbon impact, measuring and managing emissions, and supporting practices that improve environmental resilience.
For example, glass packaging accounts for around 29% of the wine industry’s carbon footprint, making lightweight bottles, alternative formats, and bulk shipping viable ways to reduce emissions. At the same time, soil health and carbon sequestration present some of the biggest opportunities for positive impact.
A notable example is The Wine Society’s Climate and Nature programme, which measures emissions, reduces them where possible, and reinvests the equivalent of carbon offset costs into regenerative initiatives within their supply chain. Their objective is clear and actionable: reduce emissions and invest in sustainable solutions.
Aligning Business Values with Sustainable Sourcing
Long-term sustainability makes commercial sense by mitigating supply chain risks and enhancing brand equity. However, buyers need practical ways to influence sustainable sourcing in the short term.
- Understand Your Baseline: Start by assessing what your supply base is already doing. Producers are often ahead of retailers in implementing sustainability initiatives because they are at the sharp end of climate change, but better communication is needed.
- Choose Suppliers That Align with Your Values: Without visibility into producer practices, making aligned purchasing decisions is impossible.
- Encourage Innovation: The shift toward lighter bottles, recycled glass, or alternative formats can reduce carbon footprints without sacrificing quality or value.
The Role of Certifications
Certifications provide useful frameworks but are not a substitute for deeper due diligence. There are a variety of organisations that can help buyers understand the differences between the different schemes as they are evolving at such pace, and buyers must ensure these labels align with genuine impact in ways that are consistent with their own goals.
Beyond certifications, collaborative initiatives like the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR), Porto Protocol, International Wineries for Climate Action, and the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation provide additional industry-led support and guidance.
Communicating Sustainability Clearly
Sustainability messaging must be simple yet credible. Broad claims such as ‘sustainable wine’ are risky, whereas specific claims like ‘supports biodiversity projects’ are more transparent and verifiable.
The UK’s Green Claims Code provides guidance on ensuring sustainability statements are legally sound and factually accurate. Buyers should encourage transparency in sustainability communications without over-complicating the impact on commercial decisions.
Supporting Change and Driving Impact
Wine buyers have a unique opportunity to drive industry progress by:
- Leveraging buying power to encourage sustainability investments.
- Working with producers on transition strategies (e.g., lighter bottles, biodiversity initiatives).
- Supporting collaborative efforts such as SWR’s bottleweight accord.
- Ensuring suppliers actively measure and reduce emissions and have action plans for important areas such as biodiversity.
The Commercial Reality of Sustainability
Sustainability must align with profitability. Cost pressures often trump sustainability ambitions, but evidence shows that sustainable brands grow 2.7x faster than conventional ones. * Buyers should work with suppliers to integrate sustainability in a commercially viable way, such as:
- Logistics efficiencies: Bulk shipping of premium wines can significantly reduce carbon footprints.
- Reducing waste: Encouraging suppliers to eliminate unnecessary packaging and improve recyclability.
- Consumer engagement: Aligning sustainability efforts with consumer expectations and demand.
- Create brand value: Creating clear and consistent sustainability values so that customers can actively choose your shop or venue with confidence, and pay a premium where relevant
Conclusion: The Buyer’s Role in Shaping the Future
Sustainability in drinks buying isn’t just a passing trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses operate. Buyers hold significant influence, not just in purchasing decisions but in shaping sustainability narratives and supply chain expectations. However buyers increasingly cannot do this alone. They need to influence their broader business community and supply base to work together with shared values and a clear vision.
The key takeaway? The question isn’t whether sustainability matters, but how effectively we integrate it into every stage of the buying process. The awards entries were genuinely inspiring, and yet surprising in their diversity of approach. There is no one way to navigate this journey, and no right answers, only better choices, one decision at a time.
* NYU Stern School of Business's 2021 Sustainable Market Share Index, (accessed through the CISL Sustainability Leadership Course).
We will be announcing the Sustainable Wine Buyer Award kindly sponsored by Domaine Bousquet at London Wine Fair on Centre Stage, Tuesday 20th May, 2pm.
Plus, you can join Anne Jones on Centre Stage on Wednesday 21st May, 11:30 - 12:30 for a session focused on what makes a sustainable wine buyer.
