It would be downright wrong to start a business in 2021 without thinking about its impact on the environment.

I also don’t want my kids, all aged under 5, to say to me in 20 years… ‘Dad, you knew about this, why didn’t you do anything’.

I'm slightly winging it here. As I write this, 3 weeks in, my more pressing focus right now is survival of the business, over survival of the planet.

But I also know that it’s a lot easier to implement good habits and practices when you start out, rather than trying to change a multi-million juggernaut several years in.

Therefore this is a short summary of actions, rather than a motherhood and apple pie corporate statement.

Here’s what you need to know that we’re doing at each stage of the wine supply chain:

1. Making the wine
100% of the winemakers on WineSpark are making their wine sustainably. From the start this was an important piece of criteria I looked out for when deciding who to work with. Sustainable practices can include everything from promotion of biodiversity in the vineyard to improving water management. Some producers are the gold standard and have big books of certificates to prove it; others are starting out on their sustainable journey. Either way I wanted to work with people who care about their impact on the environment as much as I do.

2. Getting the wine to Ireland
We never want to be in a position where Ireland is warm enough to produce wine commercially. So buying local here isn’t an option... shipping wine from faraway places like New Zealand is here to stay. The carbon emissions of all shipments to WineSpark are calculated and offset by purchasing credits to fund a range of certified and strictly controlled projects, the first one being rainforest conservation in the heart of Peru.

3. Getting the wine to your door
All deliveries are shipped carbon neutral with UPS - which benefits projects such as reforestation, methane and landfill gas destruction, and wastewater treatment.

By buying from WineSpark, you’re supporting all of these efforts. I didn't want it to be an optional upsell at the checkout, or a premium-priced delivery option.

I wanted to build them into the business from the start. And by choosing to support us, you’re supporting these efforts to create a better future for our planet.

There’s more to come, but feel free to get in touch at eamon@winespark.com if you have any ideas how we can do it better!