Meet Andrés Valero - The Drinks Business Green Personality of the year 2023

Ahead of Earth Day, we caught up with Andrés Valero, Sustainability and CSR leader at Bodega Argento and recent recipient of Green Personality of the Year 2023 by The Drinks Business, to discuss the sustainability initiatives he has led in his role at Bodega Argento.

This award recognises not only his promotion of environmental causes with Bodega Argento, but also within the industry at large. Upon honouring him with the awards, The Drinks Business Judges noted he was “... a hard grafter” who has “a helicopter view of sustainability”.   

We sat down with Andrés to get to know a little bit more about the impact of his sustainability work. 

Congratulations on being awarded the Green Personality of the Year 2023 by the Drinks Business! How does it feel to receive such recognition for your efforts in sustainability?  

It is an honour to receive the Drinks Business recognition. This award highlights the work that collectively we have been doing at Bodega Argento and the evolution from an organic winemaking philosophy to a sustainable business model.  

Can you share some key sustainability initiatives that you’ve led within Argento in the past year?  

At Bodega Argento, I have been in charge of developing and running the company's integrated sustainability plan, which focuses on people, community, operations, and the value chain. Bodega Argento adheres to organic, fairtrade, and local sustainability protocol standards. At Bodega Argento we try to develop partnerships that can lead to positive environmental and social impacts. By collaborating with various social organisations, the company has created solutions for materials that would otherwise have been sent to municipal landfills. Three initiatives stand out among these partnerships. The first is the improvement of the recycling stream with Fortaleza de mi tierra, a cooperative formed by informal waste pickers. The second is the development of internal merchandising made from waste materials at the handicraft workshop of CO.RE.ME. The third is the reuse of green plastic stripes at the Almafuerte Penitentiary complex. These initiatives have prevented 20 tons of materials from ending up in landfills while improving working conditions, creating a steady source of income, and increasing stability for the families involved in the cooperative.  

How do these initiatives align with your personal beliefs and commitment to environmental causes?  

I am optimistic that change is possible when the objectives are clear and are aligned with overarching goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals and that when you feel part of the change you can always go one step further. Thinking only about containing negative environmental impacts is not enough, it is necessary to move forward to achieve positive impacts, which contemplate social issues and local development as well. It is rewarding to be part of an organisation with whom I share the same values.  

In what ways do you believe your efforts have positively influenced the broader wine industry in terms of environmental practices?  

The wine sector has the unique opportunity to tell the sustainability story. On one hand, unlike other food and beverage products, consumers want to know what lies behind the bottle. How do the climate conditions and the terroir influence the final outcome? Where do grapes come from? It is vital to take advantage of this curiosity and tell consumers what good environmental practices were followed and their impact on the ecosystem. And how techniques such as organic production can help the unique site where their favourite wine was born, to be preserved, and enhanced. On the other hand, the people working in the wine sector are some of the most passionate people I have ever met because they are convinced of the cultural and deep-rooted value that the production represents for each region where grapes are grown. Therefore, they are open to collaborating for regional development and have understood that protecting the environment is critical in this sector. 

Hopefully, through the successful sustainability history of Bodega Argento, we will inspire others while to keep generating positive environmental and social impacts. In the past two years, I have spoken at more than 30 workshops, webinars, and conferences both in Argentina and abroad sharing our experience with a broader audience on topics such as waste management, carbon footprint, fairtrade, sustainable business models, water efficiency, and sustainable labelling.  

Have you collaborated with other organisations, or industry partners, to amplify the impact of your sustainability efforts?  

I am a passionate advocate for SDG 17 (Sustainable Development Goal 17), which emphasizes the importance of partnerships as the primary means of achieving change. At Bodega Argento we have created alliances that enable collaboration towards the common goal of a promoting sustainable viticulture. We are a founding member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR), an organisation promoting action to foster sustainability across the wine sector including all the actors involved in the supply chain. We have an active role in the sustainability department of Bodegas de Argentina (the local business chamber of the wine sector). We adhere to the UN Global Compact, and we are a member of the Argentine Institute of Social Responsibility and Sustainability (IARSE). 

In the last three years I have volunteered in several projects aimed at strengthening the sustainable development agenda in the wine industry. Since July 2022, I was appointed as the editorial director of the new version of the "Bodegas de Argentina" sustainability protocol. Where I have coordinated a group of over 60 experts to update the protocol to include concepts of human rights, due diligence, gender issues, labour conditions, and new environmental challenges such as climate change and agricultural regeneration. In addition, I was invited to participate in the OIV expert meeting and authored the updated guideline for GHG accounting for the wine sector. Also, for my role at Bodega Argento, I was appointed as part of the board of the Argentinean chapter of the UN Global Compact, which contributes to initiatives that promote the implementation of the SDG and was invited to teach at the UN Global Compact's Circular Economy executive course. 

For companies looking to enhance their commitment to sustainability, what advice would you offer based on your own experiences? 

Get to know your internal and external stakeholder's expectations. From the companies' workers to the final consumers, ensure you have mapped which issues related to sustainability are important to them. Analyse which topics you think you can influence; it can be water usage, natural habitat preservation, waste disposal, discrimination, or community development. Look at the action you already have in place in your company related to the topic. You are already interacting with the matter and probably already making progress. Define which small changes you can implement to improve the issue. Reiterate for the same issue or others. Regardless of the size of your business, step by step, you can align your business objectives with sustainability. This is how, step by step, Bodega Argento's objectives evolved from an organic production philosophy to a sustainable business model. 

Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to leave in terms of sustainability and environmental responsibility within Argento and the wine industry?  

I believe that the legacy would be first to ensure that both the ecosystems and the communities where our vineyards and wineries are located are able to thrive over time. Secondly, we are inspired by the fact that production based on organic production, fairtrade values, and sustainability can generate a successful business model.  Finally, to contribute to the positioning of Argentine viticulture worldwide as a reference regarding sustainable viticulture.