Castel Group Publishes Its 2025 Sustainability Report and Reaffirms Its Commitment to a Locally Rooted Development Model

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Castel Group has published its 2025 Sustainability Report, presenting the actions carried out over the year to strengthen the resilience of its activities, reduce its environmental footprint, and contribute to the economic and social development of the regions in which it operates.

Present in nearly 34 countries through its three business divisions: Castel Afrique for beverages, Somdia for agro-industry, and Castel Vins for wine production and trading, the Group is pursuing a clear ambition: to create more value locally by leveraging its industrial, agricultural and commercial presence, while addressing major climate, social and economic challenges.

In 2025, the Group generated €6.954 billion in revenue, with nearly 43,000 employees, beverage operations in 22 African countries, 80 production sites, 3 glassworks, 6 sugar refineries, 13 vineyards and 11 blending and packaging sites in France.

Against a backdrop of increasingly fragile supply chains, Castel continued to develop local value chains in order to secure its raw materials, reduce its dependence on imports, and strengthen local economies. In 2025, several initiatives were deployed, notably around maize in Burkina Faso, the rice sector in Chad, cereals in Malawi, and brewing raw materials in Ethiopia. This sovereignty strategy reflects the Group's determination to produce more within the countries themselves, make better use of locally available resources, and build more resilient value chains.

This approach is also reflected in the strengthening of synergies between Somdia and Castel Afrique. By-products from agricultural and sugar activities are increasingly being recovered and reused as part of a circular economy approach. Somdia inaugurated a first distillery in Congo in 2025, designed to produce alcohol from molasses derived from sugar refining. A second distillery was also commissioned in 2026 in Côte d'Ivoire, on the SUCAF-CI site. These investments make it possible to produce locally an alcohol that was previously imported, while making better use of sugar refinery by-products.

The preservation of natural resources is another key pillar. In 2025, Castel Afrique continued its efforts to better control water consumption, improve energy efficiency, and expand the use of renewable energy. In terms of water management, Castel Afrique's consumption ratio decreased by 30% in 2025 compared with 2018. A total of 52 sites are now ISO 14001 certified, an international standard attesting to the implementation of a structured environmental management system that helps identify, monitor and reduce the environmental impacts of activities. Castel Afrique's photovoltaic production also increased, while Somdia's sugar refineries generated 5.7 million gigajoules from biomass, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuels during sugar campaigns.

The Group is also continuing its actions in favour of the circular economy. In 2025, 65% of Castel Afrique's beverage packaging was made of returnable glass or kegs, 54% cullet - recycled glass reintroduced into production - was used in glass production, and 95% of spent grain from the brewing process was recovered, notably for animal feed. The subsidiaries are also pursuing initiatives to collect and recycle plastic waste, while stepping up awareness programmes promoting responsible behaviour, as illustrated by Madagascar, where 177 tonnes of PET were collected in 2025.

The Group's local roots are also reflected in concrete actions for communities. In 2025, 24 boreholes were commissioned in Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, adding to the 14 installed in Chad in 2024, for a total investment of nearly €1.3 million. More than 230,000 trees were planted on and around the Group's sites, bringing the total number of trees planted since 2018 to 800,000. Health, education, access to water, and entrepreneurship support initiatives also continued through the Group's subsidiaries, the Somdia Foundations, and the Pierre Castel Fund.

“Our ambition is clear: to create more value in the regions where we operate, while strengthening the resilience of our activities in the face of economic, climate and societal challenges. In a world where supply chains are increasingly exposed, this long-term strategy is more relevant than ever,” said Gregory Clerc, Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Castel.

Castel Group reaffirms that sustainability is an integral part of its strategy: producing locally, making the most of resources, developing skills, preserving ecosystems, and making a lasting contribution to the economies in which it is rooted.