Building Better Whisky - Report

Following on from our talk at the Spirit of Speyside Festival, alongside our collaborators we have published a new report, featuring insights from experts across the whisky industry, which explores the key challenges faced by the energy-intensive industry as it works to shift towards more sustainable, low-carbon production methods.

The report, titled ‘Building Better Whisky’, offers a comprehensive overview of the difficult and often conflicting challenges the whisky industry faces in its sustainability push. It highlights the difficult balance between maintaining traditional production methods and embracing environmentally friendly practices. The report also outlines practical and achievable solutions for whisky brands to consider, providing a roadmap for both the short and long term.

It is said that it takes one litre of oil to produce one litre of whisky, where burning fuel for the distillation process makes up 80-90% of scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct emissions that are owned or controlled by the company) of a distillery. Reducing the usage of fossil fuels is a key area to reduce emissions – but also one of the hardest.