Resource Efficiency: Ruinart

Violaine Basse, CMO of the champagne producer Ruinart – winner of our Resource Efficiency award – talks about the company’s new lighter, fibre-based, recyclable case.

PE: Firstly, congratulations on winning the award! What does this mean for you?

VB: The Ruinart team, as well as the Pusterla 1880 and James Cropper teams, are very honoured to receive this prize. It is the culmination of a three-year journey, which was challenging at times but also very rewarding. Becoming the first champagne house to be awarded for a sustainable initiative in this category reinforces our commitment to promoting a more sustainable luxury and ‘art de vivre’. We are very grateful to Sustainability Awards 2020 for giving us this recognition.

PE: Could you please introduce your successful entry and what’s innovative about it?

VB: Ruinart second skin case is a new eco-designed packaging that aims to replace all Ruinart generic gift boxes. What is innovative about it is that it manages to have a 100% paper-based, entirely recyclable case, including the closing system, that is perfectly moulded to the shape of the iconic Ruinart bottle, and produced in one single piece.

Another characteristic that is innovative for the champagne industry is that the second skin case protects our wine from being light-struck until the very last step of consumer tasting, thanks to a mineral added into the paper pulp and the high resistance of the paper case until consumption. For example, it resists months in fridges and hours in ice buckets.

PE: What are the environmental challenges in packaging that your entry addresses, and what impact do you hope it will make? VB: This packaging addresses two environmental challenges: recycling and waste reduction.

Indeed, regarding recycling, we wanted to be sure that once the packaging is thrown away, it is well recycled. In order to optimize the end-of-life of the second skin case, we decided to develop a ‘monomaterial’ paper case.

The previous generation of gift boxes was multimaterial: a paper structure and plastic holds (to maintain the bottle). The consumer had to separate both materials to secure recycling. With second skin, there is no need to separate anything – it is easily and entirely recyclable with other household paper.

Regarding the other challenge, reduction, we worked on packaging based on one essential element: the shape of our iconic bottle. This minimalism allows us to reduce the carbon footprint by 60% compared to the previous generation of gift boxes – second skin is nine times lighter, weighing 40g vs 360g.

Last but not least, it was mandatory for us to use FSC certified materials: the paper is made of natural wood fibre coming from eco-managed forests in Europe.

PE: ‘Sustainability’ in packaging is multi-dimensional – both in terms of objectives and challenges. Could you comment on the most important roadblocks you identify from your position in the value chain, and the kinds of solutions you would like to see addressing them?

VB: Climate change is already happening in the vineyards. The Champagne terroir is the source of our wines’ excellence: we have a responsibility to protect and preserve this natural environment. For Ruinart, sustainability is a must.

Twenty years ago, the culture of the vineyard melded with the philosophy of sustainability: from the vineyards certified ‘Viticulture Durable en Champagne’ (VDC) since the 1990s and ‘Haute Valeur Environnemental’ (HVE niveau 3) since 2014, to all wine production activities. Ten years ago, Ruinart decided to extend this to every element of the métier.

I think the major roadblock is consumer behaviour towards the luxury industry, because they are used to traditional gifting codes such as gold, lots of paper, cardboard and ribbons when they want to offer a luxury good. That is why it is important to set an example and to affirm that, nowadays, luxury means excellence, which means we also have to be excellent on the environmental impact we have. It is our duty to produce the cleanest packaging possible. Progressively, their minds will change. n