818 Tequila, the sustainable Tequila brand founded by Kendall Jenner, has achieved Certified B Corporation status, becoming the second Kardashian-Jenner-owned company to earn the mark.
The B Corp status places 818 among a select global community of purpose-driven companies that are leading a worldwide movement for a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.
As one of the few tequila companies worldwide to achieve B Corp certification, 818 has undergone the rigorous review process of the impact of its operations and business model in the areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, Consumers, and Disclosure, meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
B Corp businesses are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. They are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Jenner expressed her pride in achieving B Corp status and the company’s commitment to sustainability. “I founded this company with sustainability at its core, and to be recognized for this commitment motivates us to continue building on these goals. This is just the first step; we will continue to work hard to make 818 as sustainable as possible,” she said in a statement.
818’s achievement makes Jenner’s company the second in the family to earn the esteemed mark; her half-sister Khloe Kardashian announced her denim company Good American achieved B Corp status in late 2021.
To further its commitment to sustainability, 818 Tequila is launching its “Buy a Bottle, Give a Brick” campaign, which coincides with April’s Earth Month activities. For every bottle of 818 Tequila purchased from April 1 through June 30, 2023, 818 Tequila will donate one brick through its Bricks Program, up to $25,000, which directly impacts local Mexican infrastructure projects.
This campaign operates in partnership with S.A.C.R.E.D. (Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education, and Development), a nonprofit that supports Mexican communities where heritage agave spirits are made.
“I’m honored to work alongside 818 Tequila, especially on making adobe bricks out of agave waste and using those bricks to support Mexican communities,” Lou Bank, Founder and Executive Director of S.A.C.R.E.D., said in 2021 when they announced the partnership. “It’s our mission to support the people who make agave spirits, in hopes of sustaining the multigenerational wisdom and practices they inherited from their progenitors who made tequila, mezcal, and other heritage spirits. Our goal is to support the communities that are integral to agave production by working with them directly and asking them what they need.”
The Bricks Program uses post-production agave byproducts to create adobe bricks that are used for building local community infrastructure, such as libraries, classrooms, and weather-mitigation structures. The adobe brick production combines traditional tequila-making methods with environmental-impact innovation and is much more environmentally friendly compared to modern, cooked bricks.
To date, 818 Tequila has donated almost $400K in support of the Bricks Program, which has supported projects such as a community library in Zapotitlán de Vadillo, Jalisco, and a “Plaza de la Comunidad” in Río de Parras, Michoacan.
Current projects include building a retaining wall and tasting room for a local mezcal distillery in San Juan de Espanatica and new independent offices for SiKanda, a registered charity in Oaxaca, Mexico.
On a visit to the Tonight Show in 2021, Jenner told host Jimmy Fallon the brand is donating the bricks and “building homes for people that need homes.”
818 Tequila also donates 1% of each sale to environmental non-profit partners as a 1% for the Planet member.
The tequila production process at the distillery is powered by post-production waste using biomass boilers, extending the life cycle of the agave and reducing CO2 emissions. All packaging is 100 percent eco-friendly, from the glass bottles down to the corks and labels, which are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for coming from sustainably managed forests.
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