The owners of Bruichladdich, a Scottish distillery on the Isle of Islay that produces single malt whisky and dry gin, are thinking about the harm to the environment. In the next four years, they plan to make the distillation process a zero-emission operation using alternative energy sources.
A total of nine distilleries are located on the island. The facilities run on fuel, burning 15 million litres of oil a year. The location is believed to have the highest per capita carbon dioxide levels in Scotland.
Bruichladdich have been thinking about the environmental damage and have decided to use an innovative way of doing things. By 2025, the company will no longer be using gas to emit harmful substances. The process will be switched to environmentally friendly electricity and electrolysis of water. They also plan to use renewable sources of energy, such as wind and tidal power.
Bruichladdich believes that the experiment will help develop the island. “We are guided by this viewpoint of ‘think big, start small, but start today’ And this is one of those things that is needed in the industry – to take a bold, courageous step to imagine what change could look like. You can start with what you are capable of controlling,” said chief executive Douglas Taylor.
Earlier, the Scottish whisky giant Glenfiddich decided to go green and contribute to saving nature from climate change. The company installed refuelling stations at its Dufftown distillery from which trucks could refuel with recycled leftover raw materials and liquid waste.