Moving to Net Zero

Climate change is the most pressing emergency the world faces today. The climate crisis impacts people’s lives and livelihoods, the planet’s biodiversity and the availability of natural resources. The Scotch Whisky industry has a responsibility to help tackle the crisis – both through collaboration across the industry  and through direct action by each of our member companies.   

Transparency

Decarbonising our operations (Scopes 1 and 2) is a priority for our industry, and one that is in the power of companies of all sizes to adapt, adopt and improve. As an industry, we’ll use a science-based approach to reach this target. 

Our 2022 baseline figure, which demonstrates our sector’s current emissions total across our operations, is a clear, data-led point from which we can accurately measure progress. 

We plan to report on our operational emissions annually.

Efficiency

Mashing and distillation are heat-intensive processes, using up a lot of energy. The heat is used to produce steam, which is currently generated in boilers by combusting fuel. While many Scotch Whisky sites are just a few years old, built with sustainability at their heart, many others have existed for decades, sometimes over a century. Innovating heat reduction technology in historical and heritage spaces is complex, costly, and at times impractical. 

Significant investments have already been made in renewable heat using existing technology, and you can explore some ways that’s being done across Scotch Whisky companies, below. 

Utilising new technology

Being sustainable, being energy efficient: you can’t do that without innovation

Collaboration

It’s too big an agenda: if we as an industry start sharing knowledge, we can all get there faster.