B Corp Certified
The journey started in March 2020 and as from December 2022, our company is B Corp certified. Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. It’s allowed us to measure everything and make the necessary changes to align with our view on the future.
Being a generational family business and part of the B Corp movement allows us to work towards leaving the company, its stakeholders and the planet in a better place for the next generation.
ASAS – Ajuda Solidária Ambiental e Social
Through our social and environmental program ASAS, the Company has a 3-year plan to develop our presence on our island through environmental and social programs.
Quality Control Certificates
ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System
Obliges the company to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
People & Community
We have created specific HR programs for our staff at the company, that include programs on health and wellness and health risk assessment, life skills training for staff and their families, sponsored programs for continued educational credentials and external professional development opportunities. We also provide financial support to those members of staff whose children attend University. Members of the company also work on individual social projects in the less favoured communities around the island.
Through the Blandy Group, we have also developed the Blandy Academic Scholarships that are accessible to those students at the University of Madeira (UMa) who have financial difficulties and high academic performance.
Every year the group donates to a list of charitable associations, that can be found https://www.blandy.com/en/
Vineyards
The company manages 3 vineyards totalling 5.7 hectares. In our largest vineyard at Quinta de São Jorge on the north of the island, we are currently working to certify the vineyard with an “Integrated Production” certification. We use ducks, chickens and sheep to help us look after pests and weeds (which being on a fertile, sub-tropical, humid island, weed growth is a constant!) and after each harvest, we return all winery residual biomass, such as stalks and grape skins and seeds, back into the vineyards as fertilizer.
During 2023 we will initiate a R&D program together with the University of Madeira to work on understanding the impacts of climate change on viticulture on the island, whilst also developing a project to implement “Precision Agriculture” in our vineyards.
We are also developing with ViniPortugal, “The National Reference for Sustainability Certification” throughout the company and working with over 330 individual growers throughout the year to support them in developing best practices on their family properties.
