Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard.

Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, has announced a new partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This announcement took place at the CEO Summit, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank and Bruno Oberle, Director General of the IUCN, coinciding with the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which for the first time is being held in Marseille, France, from 3 to 11 September.

Through this collaboration, Pernod Ricard becomes the first corporate partner to support IUCN’s ‘Agriculture and Land Health Initiative’.

The initiative strives to build a shared vision through a discussion platform, which brings together – around tangible projects – public and private sector actors including governments, NGOs, companies, land managers, scientists and experts who all share a single objective: build commitments for accelerated action towards sustainable agriculture.

BIODIVERSITY: AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT

They will also join forces to promote and highlight the scientific and economic benefits of sustainable agriculture, encouraging decision makers to adopt this approach on a wider scale.

“All our products are closely connected with nature – they take their character, their identity and their quality from the terroirs where they are grown,” said Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard.

“Biodiversity is an essential element to the equilibrium of these ecosystems. Valuing, protecting and conserving it so that we can pass on healthy terroirs to future generations is therefore not only a moral and civic obligation but also a necessity for the future of our Group.

“That is why we are both proud and honoured to be more actively involved alongside the IUCN in order to demonstrate the importance of agriculture that is more respectful of the land and its ecosystems.”