Sustainable wine businesses on the rise: almost 15,000 Equalitas-certified labels

The Equalitas label confirms itself as one of the most widely used in the wine sector. More and more companies are choosing this certification model regarding sustainability across the supply chain. In 2024, there are 14,500 wine labels under the brand, totalling 8.8 million hectolitres of certified wine (compared to 6.9 million in 2022), marking a 139% increase over the three-year period from 2022 to 2024.

The spread of Equalitas in Italy

Founded in 2017, the Equalitas system has reached 435 certified operational units representing 306 companies, with an aggregated turnover of approximately 6 billion euros, related to companies holding sustainability certification. Veneto (120 operational units) leads the regions in terms of certified businesses, followed by Piedmont with 91 and Tuscany with 73. According to data released by Equalitas itself, there is also a significant concentration in central and southern Italy, particularly in Abruzzo (34), Puglia (22), Sicily and Marche (17 each).

Riccardo Ricci Curbastro – President of Equalitas

International development

The sustainability standard is also looking abroad as a future growth strategy. International memberships include 8 certified companies in Spain and 2 in Sweden. Formal requests have also been received from major wine-producing countries such as France and Germany, as well as from emerging markets including Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, South Africa, Brazil, Finland, and Denmark.
A key role in foreign expansion is played by the activity of the Nordic monopolies. “The level of consensus and the recognised technical robustness of our protocol, in addition to agreements with the Northern European monopolies,” highlighted president Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, recently reappointed, “have led to major developments such as the recent request from the Greek Federation of Producers.” This signals that, despite the existence of alternative national standards, many countries are looking with interest at the Italian model.

Ricci Curbastro reappointed and the new board of directors

On 29 May, the annual Equalitas shareholders' meeting, held in Rome, appointed the members of the new Board of Directors, who will serve until 2027: Riccardo Ricci Curbastro (president), Michele Manelli (vice president), and board members Francesco Liantonio, Giuseppe Liberatore, Pietro Bonato, Giangiacomo Gallarati Scotti Bonaldi, Maria Chiara Ferrarese, Luigino Disegna and Paolo Cuccia, president of Gambero Rosso.

Paolo Cuccia – President of Gambero Rosso, member of the Equalitas Board of Directors

The latest initiatives

Equalitas has meanwhile expanded its operational scope within the wine sector, on the one hand by launching the “Barbatelle” certification protocol, which also covers upstream phases of the supply chain, and on the other hand by introducing a new protocol focused on workplace well-being, reserved for contract workers, aiming to ensure greater transparency and legality in employment contracts for specialised vineyard labour.
A collaboration has also been initiated with Apra, a sustainable certification management software, and a pilot project is under development with the banking group BNP Paribas, aimed at rewarding companies that invest in sustainability with preferential credit access terms and lower interest rates.

A bit of history

Equalitas is a company founded in 2017 (majority-owned by Federdoc), and the owner of the voluntary standard of the same name, which enables certification of sustainability levels for products, companies, and wine-producing regions. Sustainability here refers to a set of requirements—environmental, social, and economic—all of which are verifiable and measurable. The standard is structured to allow certification by an independent third party, making Equalitas a certification system compliant with international ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) standards.