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Argea shows the business sense in pushing sustainability

19 June 2026 By Michael Huband

With its recent sustainability report, Italy’s largest private wine company is proving the positive impact of sustainability on people and the planet, but also on the producer itself.

Titled Habitat, Argea’s 2025 Sustainability Report arrives at a point when companies around the world are reevaluating their sustainability initiatives in light of economic pressures. The strange times have not gone unnoticed at Italy’s largest private wine company – CEO Massimo Romani recognised the “very peculiar moment” that businesses are experiencing in an interview with db earlier this year.

Yet the document, a 112-page deep dive that spans the categories of management, supply chain, land and talent, proves that sustainability remains at the heart of Argea’s work. Indeed, the company is using sustainability initiatives to support its long-term growth.

On the report’s release, Romani commented: “In a particularly complex context for the wine industry, marked by declining consumption, rising cost pressure, evolving consumption styles and growing attention to environmental impacts, Argea is consolidating its development model with data that relate not only to production sites, but to the entire value chain: vineyards, supplying wineries, suppliers, packaging, logistics, people and communities.”

Working together

One recurring theme within the report is that sustainability successes – innately valuable already – are being further leveraged to support business growth. Argea’s long-term partnerships and new opportunities now have sustainability at their heart.

*At Argea’s wineries like Poderi dal Nespoli, the whole supply chain is considered with regards to sustainability.*

Among the headline achievements is work across the supply chain. With 165 million bottles sold, Argea operates at a scale that involves a variety of partners. Working with them is a means both of fostering sustainability and building good business.

This year, Argea increased participation in the Argea Wine Chain Sustainability Pact. It now involves 28 wineries and covers 60.5% of the wine Argea sources from external suppliers.

The pact involves monitoring key sustainability goals, such as working on health and safety protocols and environmental initiatives, with 88% of wine suppliers successfully completing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) qualification process. In joining the scheme, suppliers also facilitate transparency and traceability in the supply chain.

Crucially, the pact also promotes the sharing of knowledge and best practice. Rather than being an exercise solely in monitoring and ticking boxes, the scheme promotes collaboration and co-operation, sharing expertise not only in sustainability but also in technology and winemaking.

The value of collaboration is further evident in Argea joining Stronger Together Italia earlier this year. The initiative, run by non-profit organisation Stronger Together, helps companies to identify and mitigate risks of labour exploitation in the supply chain.

This laudable sustainability goal is ensuring that all workers are treated fairly when supporting Argea’s business. Yet it also offers demonstrable assurances to Argea’s partners that it takes social sustainability seriously: it helps meet requirements of the Nordic monopolies, for instance, who sponsor the Italian scheme.

Protecting the planet

Several schemes relating to environmental sustainability are also prominent in the report. This covers both initiatives that contribute to a global impact and local schemes rooted in Argea’s winemaking heritage.

*Gualdo Romagna DOC Sangiovese Predappio Biosimbiotico, made with the enviroment in mind.*

In the 2025 report, Argea can boast that 100% of its electricity comes from renewable sources. This was one factor contributing to its emissions decreasing by 2.6% compared to 2024.

Moreover, Argea achieved approval for its medium- and long-term plans this year. The Science Based Targets Initiative validated Argea’s targets to reduce emissions generated by business operations, purchased energy and the supply chain by 42% by 2030, and its target of net zero by 2050.

Argea has also tied environmental progress to efficiency. In 2025, the company reduced waste generation by 20% and its net water consumption by 24%. It also sent 89.3% of waste for recycling.

These initiatives demonstrate a fundamental truth of sustainability – lowering consumption and promoting circularity has a positive effect on the macro level, but also makes simple business sense as a means of reducing expenditure.

Yet, as an agricultural business, Argea has not distanced itself from the ‘spades in the ground’ vision of environmental stewardship. Its wine Gualdo Romagna DOC Sangiovese Predappio Biosimbiotico is a remarkable example of ecologically-minded wine production.

The Sangiovese, made by Argea’s winery Poderi del Naspoli, is sourced from 13.7 hectares in Italy’s first biosymbiotic district. The Romagna district brings together growers, councils and local businesses to promote restorative agriculture.

Gualdo is organic and the vineyards are farmed in order to promote biodiversity and soil health, enriching rather than depleting the landscape. Sustainability is even integrated into the packaging: a natural beeswax capsule is used, while residues from grape processing are reclaimed as cellulose for the label.

People first

The individuals that power the business have not been forgotten either. In Argea’s 2025 sustainability report, it has evidence of retaining, developing and protecting staff.

Voluntary turnover within the group decreased by nearly 30% to 5.2%, demonstrating Argea’s commitment to its staff and ability to retain workers. That is emblematic of its commitment to workers, which you can see elsewhere in its offer of more than 3,800 hours of training to its staff in 2025.

The group also saw progress in its work on gender equality. Women made up 34.7% of the workforce in 2025, up 2.3% on the year prior. Argea achieved a further social sustainability win by increasing its WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool score from 36% to 40%.

*Michael Isnardi, Argea’s QHSE and sustainability director.*

Argea’s social sustainability credentials do not stop there, however. Looking at the global picture, it has continued its support for Wine in Moderation, an international coalition that seeks to minimise harm and create a sustainable culture around wine.

This dovetails neatly with its own portfolio. Having introduced its first eight non-alcoholic wines in 2024, it followed with Tralcetto Dealcoholised Sparkling White Wine by Zaccagnini and an alcohol-free expression of its Brilla! brand.

Such commitments are permeating the company, creating a culture in which people feel valued, the environment is always a consideration and sustainability is part of Argea’s future success.

“Talking about sustainability means making the traces of the way we do business legible: turning commitment into evidence, choices into results, principles into verifiable practices,” summarised Michael Isnardi, QHSE and sustainability director at Argea.

“In 2025, we worked to strengthen ESG governance, improve data quality, advance supplier qualification, pursue decarbonisation, and develop pilot projects capable of generating knowledge for the entire group.”

The sense of building momentum from sustainability initiatives at Argea is echoed by Romani. “For Argea, sustainability means taking responsibility for the impact we generate and turning it into long-term positive value,” he commented.

“With this objective, we have continued to reinforce our approach, keeping sustainability as a central axis of the Group’s industrial and strategic decisions. This report is not a finishing point, but another step in an ongoing journey.”

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