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Four of
Diageo's Scotch Whisky distilleries have
been awarded the UK’s highest
eco-tourism award.
Four
of Diageo's Scotch Whisky distilleries
have been awarded the UK’s highest
eco-tourism award.
Lagavulin, Blair Athol, Oban and
Clynelish distilleries have all received
the prestigious gold certification from
Green Tourism for their sustainable
practices, both in the brand home
visitor experiences and the distillery
operations.
They join sister distilleries
Glenkinchie and Royal Lochnagar on the
list of Diageo Scotch Whisky
distilleries to receive the top Green
Tourism accreditation. Only eight
distilleries in total in Scotland have
this accreditation, with Diageo now
holding six.
Zero waste to landfill, biodiversity
enhancement, energy efficiency, local
sourcing, community engagement and
plastic reduction were among the
achievements praised by the assessors
across the whisky attractions.
Oban Distillery has been key to helping
raise the standards for sustainable
practice across the drinks industry. The
distillery switched to biofuels in 2018,
reducing its carbon footprint by 98%,
and last year introduced a new water
reduction initiative, allowing the site
to save approximately 80,000 litres of
water a week.
The distillery is also working with the
world’s leading Scotch Whisky, Johnnie
Walker, to plant 189,000 trees in
Ballygowan, across 85.5 hectares, to
restore woodland and promote wildlife
diversity in Argyll, as part of Johnnie
Walker’s commitment to plant a million
trees across Scotland by 2025.
On Islay, which is world-renowned for
its smoky, peaty whiskies, Lagavulin has
led the preservation of peatlands
through a partnership with RSPB that is
working to restore and conserve almost
700 acres of peat bog on the island.
Clynelish Distillery in Brora, which is
currently undergoing a major
transformation as part of their £185m
investment in Scotch whisky tourism, was
recognised for its efforts to encourage
sustainable travel, with the
installation of cycle racks and planned
electric vehicle charging points.
Perthshire’s Blair Athol distillery was
praised for its dedication to recycling
across the business, including the
recycling of its pot ale syrup for
animal feed, which saves 850 tanker
movements and 15,000 litres of water
annually. Adding to its eco-friendly
credentials, the distillery was also
commended for using old pallets and
discarded materials to create wildlife
boxes to improve biodiversity for native
birds and insects.
Diageo's commitment to sustainability is
part of their wider ten-year
sustainability action plan to make a
positive impact on the world by 2030,
including a target of being net-zero
from their operations by the end of the
decade. They are also currently
investing £185m in their Scotch whisky
tourism experience which will see the
opening of the state-of-the-art Johnnie
Walker Princes Street whisky experience
in Edinburgh this summer, investment
into 12 of their Scotch brand homes and
the revival of lost distilleries Port
Ellen and Brora.
You will find Diageo's portfolio of
Scotch single malt and blended whiskies
available from specialist online whisky
retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and Master
of Malt
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