The Mendoza winery Bodega Trivento make integrity the basis of all their sustainability activities. With programs to ensure the most efficient possible use of water, the installation of solar panels, and soil care and education initiatives, Bodega Trivento are implementing clear policies to provide guidance to workers, suppliers and customers and guarantee transparency and professionalism at every step. The success of the winery’s positioning strategy, which began 5 years ago, is borne out in their 2023 results. For the fourth consecutive year, they are the top selling Argentine winery in the world and have also become the second largest selling brand in terms of net sales in the Viña Concha y Toro group, of which they have been a part since their founding in 1996. After striving to achieve global recognition, and implement a sustainable business, the winery has enjoyed sustained growth over the past five years with an increase of 18% in volume and 21% in value (CAGR).
Bodega Trivento and sustainability initiatives: a comprehensive commitment
Bodega Trivento are showing that sustainability is about more than individual initiatives, it is an integrated, fully aware and emphatic business strategy. Their environmental, educational and social initiatives reflect the winery’s profound commitment to sustainable development and the wellbeing of the community. This means that Bodega Trivento do not just celebrate commercial achievements but also their positive impact across the world.
Trivento were pioneers in Argentina in the measurement of carbon emissions, having begun in 2009. This process, which began when a lot of wineries still hadn’t considered the impact of their emissions, has grown increasingly systematic and professional over time. Since 2018, they have been carrying out more specific measurements and are consequently drawing up targeted plans of action to reduce emissions.
“We’ve implemented an energy efficiency program, changing our cooling systems – a critical source of energy wastage – and have installed over 900 solar panels on the roofs of the winery in Maipú,” says Mercedes Álvarez, the Head of Sustainability. These panels supply 10% of the winery’s electricity needs. In addition, seeking to increase their use of renewable energy, the winery has acquired IREC renewability certificates from a photovoltaic plant located in Chile. These certificates compensate for a level 2 energy footprint and the basic energy footprint while also sending a message to markets who are collaborating on sustainable development objectives.
They have also voluntarily signed up to the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Pact and every year take on more goals for the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Objectives.
In 2021, Bodega Trivento decided to obtain certification as a B-Corp, which involved joining an ecosystem that shares their vision of new economies and also added a new management tool that encompasses all the work done thus far, reaffirming it and also opening up new perspectives on sustainability. Being a B-Corp, Álvarez adds, “doesn’t mean that we have resolved all our social and environmental objectives but does provide us with a road map and helps to align our objectives.”
Water, land and friendly materials
In the field of water management, Bodega Trivento is optimizing use through drip irrigation and precision irrigation systems in the vineyards. This approach doesn’t just save water, it also prepares plants for water stress, something that, given the scarcity of water in Mendoza, is a positive adaptation for the future, Álvarez explains.
The re-use of materials, she says, is also an area in which they are working hard. Bodega Trivento recycle and/or compost 87% of their waste. The organic waste from the winemaking process is converted into compost to feed the vines while dry waste is managed with urban companies and collectors. These latter actors play a fundamental role in recirculating materials.
Bodega Trivento are also working on reducing the weight of their bottles and eliminating additional materials such as cardboard and paper neck packaging and replacing them with QR codes and labels which saves resources and helps to communicate with consumers. It is very important to the winery that in addition to communicating the pleasant experience of drinking the wine, consumers know the story behind it.
Education as a beacon
For the past 15 years, Bodega Trivento have encouraged their collaborators to further their education with the first private school study-completion classroom in Argentina. The opening of the facility had an ulterior motive: to help train workers at the winery in the changing technologies and management systems that were beginning to spread across the industry. The re-education of the workforce – instead of letting existing staff go and making new hires – inspired the creation, in partnership with the General Schools Department, of school studies completion classrooms. This program, which is now also open to the community, includes mentorships and support to make it possible to work and study at the same time.
Meanwhile, the winery also has a grant scheme that involves grants for under-and postgraduate studies for workers and their children. They also finance grants for the community through the sales of White Malbec, a wine with a social impact.
Finally, Trivento value the work-family balance, offering maternity leave and gradual return programs, in addition to hygiene and safety programs to protect the health of their workers.
