The French Council of State announced on February 21 that it recognizes the new regulations for the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) sustainability certification, after its litigation department dismissed the lawsuit of seven environmental associations against the new framework of HVE regulations three days earlier. This provisionally ends a fiercely contested debate between the representatives of the state sustainability label HVE on the one hand and organic associations such as the Fédération Nationale de l’Agriculture Biologique (FNAB) on the other. In a press release, the plaintiffs subsequently stated: "The organizations suing the HVE label take note of the rejection of their lawsuit by the Council of State and remain mobilized in view of the inadequacies of the reference framework."
The HVE environmental certification was created in 2007 to mediate between conventional and organic farming and to anchor sustainability goals in agricultural production. After a slow start, as of July 1, 2024, there were already 39,772 farms that were allowed to use the label with the butterfly in front of the farm, 70% of which are wineries.
In January 2023, a seven-member collective of organic associations, environmental NGOs, and consumer organizations filed a lawsuit before the Council of State, the highest French administrative court, for consumer deception. According to the plaintiffs, the HVE label gives consumers the "false promise of ecological excellence." In fact, HVE certification takes a different approach than the AB label for organic farming. While the latter focuses heavily on the strict non-use of chemical synthesis products, the former is based on a complicated mix of criteria regarding biodiversity, plant protection strategy, fertilization, and water resource management.
On January 1, 2023, the criteria for HVE certification were significantly tightened, in particular to obtain recognition of conformity with the eco-scheme formulated by the European Commission within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy, which had caused unrest among many winegrowers. Environmental associations, on the other hand, spoke of "greenwashing" and complained that the requirements were significantly below those required by the EU, which is why they are now calling for "annual monitoring" of the actual effects of the new reference standard. In its statement of September 21, the day before the opening of the French agricultural fair, the Council of State stressed in any case "that HVE certification is a constantly evolving system, driven by an approach of continuous improvement" and reaffirmed its goal of increasing the number of HVE-certified farms in France to 50,000 by 2030. SP
