E&C has outlined a detailed Sustainability Charter for 2022 that encompasses nine pillars of action for demonstrable and quantifiable change: Climate change; packaging & waste; traceability & supplier compliance; diversity & inclusion; employee wellbeing; training & development; ethical marketing & sales practices; and supporting charity. These pillars are designed to drive detailed consideration of the impact of E&C's business on the environment, on our community and on our teams.
In 2022 we plan to make a significant number of improvements, including but not limited to:

Carbon footprint
Carbon-offsetting all business travel and continuing with a number of existing initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint, such as: bulk-importing wine to bottle in the UK; shipping with feeder services into smaller regional ports; prioritising rail services in our supply chain; maintaining EU Cat 6 and ULEZ compliance across our entire van fleet; and utilising route planning and load scheduling for efficient carbon usage in all deliveries).
Refresher sessions for eco-hygienic ways of working; transitioning to renewable energy in our HQ.
Publishing an annual CSR report; updating and promoting policies.

Staff welfare & progression
Rolling out Mental Health First Aider training and awareness sessions; more proactive promotion of training and development opportunities.

Waste management & recycling
Measuring recycling rates in our HQ.

Packaging
Working with our suppliers to reduce printed resources; working with our suppliers to ensure that any printed materials are on carbon-neutral or recycled paper.

Drinks portfolio
Influencing our suppliers to drive improvements in their ethical and sustainable performance; publishing a Green List that champions producers who have acted creatively to benefit the environment and their communities.
Reissuing a supplier SAQ to understand current performance on ethical and sustainability issues.

Looking ahead, what are the longer-term company goals?

Our 2022 Sustainability Charter above includes details of all targets for the coming year. By 2023 we aim to have improved reporting on DRS, EPR and Plastic Tax, and also begin planning an extended supply chain audit with the Carbon Trust.

We will be working towards a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2026.

In the interim, we will measure improvements in our direct carbon footprint through regular ESOS and SECR reporting.

We will also be working towards zero-waste to landfill and eliminating single-use plastics throughout our supply chain and will similarly measure our progress towards these goals.

We will report on improvements in each of these areas in our annual Green List and CSR report.
By 2031, we hope to be pioneering industry progress in closed loop systems and alternative packaging.