Moët Hennessy launched first edition of World Living Soils Forum

The wine industry is searching for new and ambitious solutions to the challenges related to soil conservation and regeneration in viticulture.

Moët Hennessy hosted the first edition of the World Living Soils Forum on June 1st and 2nd in Arles, France. The event mobilized specialists and stakeholders around actions to preserve living soils. This groundbreaking forum brought together some one hundred experts from across the globe who share a deep commitment to protecting and regenerating soils. Inspiring keynotes and round tables were streamed live on World Living Soils Forum website, in French and English.

A strong commitment to reserving soils figures at the heart of Moët Hennessy’s DNA.

The quality of the products created by the world leader in premium wines and spirits depends on the health of its soils and terroirs, coupled with the artisanal know-how passed on by the founders of its iconic luxury Maisons. The preservation of living soils is a cornerstone of Moët Hennessy’s sustainable development approach, making “Living Soils Living Together” the focus of the Living Soils Forum.

International experts – scientists, researchers, representatives of public institutions, NGOs and businesses from across the wines and spirits industry – as well as participants from the agricultural sector have all been invited by Moët Hennessy to come together in Arles, France. For two days they shared their expertise and best practices, working together to find solutions to support soil protection and regeneration, and accelerate the transition to more sustainable viticulture.

“We need to find new and ambitious solutions to the challenges directly and indirectly related to soil conservation and regeneration in viticulture. Then, we need to share them, so they become available to the entire world. The very future of our business depends on these efforts. This is the purpose of this first edition of the “World Living Soils Forum”, for which we have assembled an impressive group of internal and external experts from across the world to draft a program that is both ambitious and innovative. We want this Forum to be the nexus of a global conversation that will enable the entire industry to take action quickly and more effectively within a rigorous scientific framework.” – Philippe Schaus, President and CEO of Moët Hennessy.

Regenerating the soil : good practices

The second day of the first edition of the @worldlivingsoilsforum proposed by Moët Hennessy started in Arles, Provence, with the first plenary session, “Regenerating soils, good practices”, in the presence of Stefania Avanzini, Director of OP2B, Yann-Gaël Rio, Vice President of Nature and Agriculture at Danone, Felipe Villela, Founder of ReNature, and Marc-André Selosse, Professor and Biologist at the French National Museum of Natural History.

All these experts discussed the following question: why is it important to share good practices in agriculture and viticulture to ensure a desirable future?

Here are the key points to remember from this plenary session:

• 26 companies joined together in an alliance coalition in 2019 in One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B). Danone created the “Farming for Generations Alliance” the same year to promote regenerative agriculture; One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) is an international cross-sectorial, action-oriented business coalition on biodiversity with a specific focus on agriculture.
• Peer learning is essential. There are networks of pilot farms where good practices are shared. It is important to show what is done, what works and what does not.
• There is not one single way to proceed. Farmers need to experiment, to take ownership of experimentation.
• Consumers must be aware of the issues. They need to be made aware of the issue of soil regeneration, to be educated, to be conscious that they have a role to play;
• Farmers must drive this change.
  

  @instagram.com/worldlivingsoilsforum/