Anora and farmers partner on generative agriculture

The leading Nordic spirits and wine company Anora is on a long march towards circularity and sustainability. Now they are working with farmers on the next big thing: regenerative farming techniques.

TEXT: DAVID J. CORD

Regenerative farming is a set of methods that aims to turn fields into carbon sinks, sequestering CO₂ from the atmosphere. With regenerative methods farming can be more resilient towards the changing climate and at the same time act as one solution to fight climate change and support biodiversity.

Anora is a spirits and wine company, formed through the merger of Norwegian Arcus and Finnish Altia in 2021. Some of their various brands and distilleries have roots dating back to the 1800s. A few of their brands are Blossa glögg, Chill Out wine, Linie aquavit, Skagerrak gin and Koskenkorva vodka.

“Sustainability has long been important to us,” says Petra Gräsbeck, Anora’s Director of Communications and Sustainability. “Our company purpose is ‘Let’s Drink Better,’ meaning we want to do something more than provide a beverage. We want to have a positive impact and offer something extra to consumers and the community.”

Many of their drinks depend upon Nordic crops like barley. Anora has built a long and close relationship with barley farmers in Finland, which has enabled the company to work with them with continuous improvement.

“We buy about 200 million kilos of barley every year,” Gräsbeck continues. “Two years ago, we wanted to work with the farmers for a pilot batch – 50,000 kilos – grown with regenerative farming techniques. This year that amount will already be 2,500 tons.”

Conventional farming can be hard on the land. Soil can be eroded and degraded, requiring more fertilisers to maintain yields. Regenerative farming does not just offer conservation, but even rehabilitation. It regenerates topsoil, increasing biodiversity, water retention and – most importantly – carbon sequestration.

Many regenerative farming techniques are not difficult to implement. No-till and low-till planting doesn’t disturb the topsoil like traditional ploughing. Year-round vegetation cover and crop rotation are common practices, as well as using organic material such as farming by-products as fertiliser.

Anora and their contract farmers worked with experts and NGOs such as the Baltic Sea Action Group on how best to begin regenerative farming. A training programme was implemented, and practical considerations managed. This is not a short-term project, either. A long-term commitment is needed to see the impact on the soil, but you can already taste the results.

“From the pilot batch we created Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action, the first vodka in the world made entirely from regeneratively farmed barley,” says Gräsbeck. “We know people globally are interested in sustainable products, and Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action has been well received in our export markets.”

Anora’s approach to sustainability isn’t limited to pilot projects in regenerative farming. In Ostrobothnia, western Finland, home of Anora’s Koskenkorva Distillery, the company has been working hard to make their operations more environmentally friendly for years.

“Our distillery in the village of Koskenkorva is a forerunner in the circular economy,” Gräsbeck says. “Every bit of the grain is used and nothing goes to waste. Distilling produces by-products which are used in animal feed and starch. The husks are used as bioenergy to power the plant and the resulting ashes fertilise the local fields. CO2 produced is gathered and used in greenhouse farming.”

The distillery has a full 100% recycling and recovery rate, as well as about a 50% decrease in CO2 emissions since 2014.

“We’ve also been working to use more sustainable packaging for our drinks,” says Gräsbeck. “We are using less and better materials. Our climate-smart packaging – such as PET, rPET, bag-in-boxes, pouches, and tetras – has a 60–90% lower carbon footprint than traditional glass bottles.”

Anora has ambitious plans for the future. By 2030 they plan to be using 30% regeneratively farmed barley in their own spirits products, and to have carbon neutral production throughout their own operations without compensations. The Koskenkorva Distillery, which is already in the vanguard, is likely to be completely carbon neutral even earlier, by 2026. |

Read more at: anora.com