In an ultimate sense, alcoholic beverages are agricultural products. No, we don’t often think of them that way, but all begin with grain, grapes, potatoes, or another farmed ingredient. Given that, embracing sustainable practices goes hand in hand with the production of alcoholic beverages. The Environmental Protection Agency explains the foundational principle of sustainability thus:
“Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.”
Depending on the source, sustainability is typically understood to have three or four pillars or categories: social, economic, and environmental, with some organizations adding humanity as the fourth. Beverage companies worldwide, recognizing the importance of preserving precious resources for the future, have crafted policies and implemented practices in all the core categories, a move that has made some spirits producers industry leaders in sustainable practices.
Spirits that are Leading the Industry
The Community Spirit Vodka is one such company, and they embrace a model that benefits both the U.S. and Mexico. At the core of what they do is a commitment to people — they pay their Mexican labor force competitive salaries, offer above-market benefits, and maintain high-quality working conditions, while also reducing the company’s carbon footprint through sustainable practices like reclaiming water and sourcing locally.
Per the New York Times, a carbon footprint is best understood as “the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service. It includes carbon dioxide — the gas most commonly emitted by humans — and others, including methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming.” Reducing the carbon footprint, or an individual’s or company’s impact on the environment, means making choices that lessen the impact via recycling, repurposing, greener living, energy conservation, etc.
Absolut Vodka developed their One Source program as a way to codify and demonstrate their commitment to greener production. The entire operation from field to bottle is conducted around Åhus, Sweden, including sourcing ingredients. Local sourcing means less carbon emissions from transportation, and it’s also part of the sustainable focus on human thriving — helping our local communities have meaningful employment and safe working conditions.
Sustainable agriculture, as practiced by Absolut, is a popular and meaningful choice for several distilleries, including Bruichladdich, where they are very cognizant of the fragility of an island ecosystem. The makers of Bruichladdich, Octomore, and The Botanist practice sustainable agriculture with transparency and accountability. They plan to decarbonize distilling by 2025, and along the way, they’re experimenting with rotational farming, avoiding monocrops, and reducing interventional techniques.
Another Scotch producer, The Macallan, uses sustainable farming practices on their 485-acre property — their home for 200 years — under three rubrics: protection, regeneration and enhancement. The Macallan also uses sustainable sourcing in their packaging choices, a decision that has a larger impact than we typically consider. Shipping bottles from point A to point B can be both expensive and environmentally unfriendly, so beverage producers are considering their packaging practices as a part of the overall
Susana Balbo Wines in Mendoza, Argentina, has also implemented substantial changes to their shipping practices. Reducing bottle weight is a key contributor to reducing carbon footprint. A happy side effect of this commitment is an actual reduction in shipping costs on a component that most consumers simply don’t care about. There may have been a time when dense, heavy glass with deep punts made sense, but not in a world beset by climate change. The winery also uses their own vineyard trimmings to nourish the soil, creating a circular agricultural model for sustainability. Finally, they also recycle wood, water, and cardboard.
Diplomático Rum has halved water waste in their production process, a common approach to sustainability in distilleries. The Venezuelan distillery has also committed to reducing emissions and conserving energy. Given their location at the foot of the Andes Mountains, their commitment is important to preserving one of the world’s most beautiful regions.
Diageo opened its first carbon-neutral distillery in 2021 to produce Bulleit bourbon and rye. Located in Lebanon, Kentucky, the facility uses one-hundred percent renewable electricity with virtual metering technology to maximize energy efficiency and reduce waste. They’ve also committed to operating with zero fossil fuels in the production process, with the goal of net-zero carbon by 2050. Net-zero carbon is the result of balancing the carbon produced with the carbon removed from the environment, often with simple solutions like planting trees.
Flor de Caña, a producer of premium rum, is a promoter of tree planting to reduce environmental carbon. The Nicaraguan-based distiller has planted more than 750,000 trees, in addition to making a carbon neutral spirit. The company recycles carbon dioxide, sources raw materials locally, and uses renewable energy in the distillation process, and on the human side, they have also committed to fair trade practices.
Oaxaca-based Lost Explorer Mezcal uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to form their programs and practices, specifically climate action, gender equality, and “decent work and economic growth.” The company partnered with global charity Voice for Nature to identify Mexican companies to assist in those three areas, which includes a commitment to female empowerment among underserved indigenous communities.
On a more expansive scale, Bowmore Scotch has committed to achieving 80-percent renewable energy in their production process by 2050. To help facilitate that, they’ve installed a cogeneration system at the Auchentoshan Distillery. The system produces more than one type of energy output from a single source — heat and electricity, for example — thereby ensuring that all energy is collected and repurposed, rather than letting it dissipate into the environment.
Using external certifications or programs like the United Nations or B Corporation makes it easier to map out a sustainability strategy. Essentially, companies aren’t forced to reinvent the wheel to craft and implement a sustainability program. Maker’s Mark recently became the largest distillery in the world to achieve B Corporation certification, joining a growing list of distilleries to achieve this certification joining brands like Bruichladdich.
To receive the certification, companies must meet or exceed rigorous benchmarks in five categories: community, customers, environment, governance, and workers. Per a company spokesperson, in addition to their philanthropic efforts in hospitality, local causes, and the arts, Maker’s Mark environmental “initiatives include a distillery-wide zero landfill initiative; an onsite recycling program that is the first in Marion County, Kentucky and open to community members; the establishment of a natural water sanctuary protecting the watershed at Star Hill Farm; and the implementation of a solar array that powers the extensive Maker's Mark warehouse complex.”
In Closing
The trend of distilleries, wineries and breweries supporting sustainability with tangible changes in sourcing, production, and distribution is a healthy one for the beverage industry, and consumers can easily support these forward-thinking companies in the most obvious way possible: by purchasing their products.
