Dewar’s distillery cuts carbon footprint by 90%

Bacardi’s Aberfeldy Distillery, producer of Dewar’s Blended Scotch whisky, has reduced its carbon footprint by 90% thanks to the installation of a biomass boiler last year.

Bacardi’s Aberfeldy Distillery installed a biomass boiler at the end of 2014

The biomass boiler has allowed the facility to drastically cut down on its use of fossil fuels, swapping oil for wood pellets thus reducing carbon emissions.

Aberfeldy Distillery anticipates that under its current schedule, carbon emissions from fossil fuels will be reduced by up to 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.

“Traditionally, distilleries are heavy users of fossil fuel – and that’s not good for the environment,” said Iain Lochhead, operations director at John Dewar & Sons Ltd, part of the Bacardi group of companies. “At John Dewar & Sons, we had many ideas for reducing fossil fuel usage and explored several operations, but we settled on a biomass boiler.”

Bacardi has reduced its impact on the environment by almost 28% since 2006 and cut down greenhouse gas emissions by more than 28%.

Among its many pledges, the group aims to source 40% of sugarcane-derived products for its rum from certified, sustainable sources by 2017, increasing this to 100% by 2022.

“Investment in biomass marks a sea change in the industry approach,” said David Williamson, public affairs and communications director for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). “Moving away from boilers that use heavy fuel oil – to more efficient wood pellets – helps reduce energy costs and lower emissions into the environment.

“So we develop the industry as we nurture local surroundings and deliver a sustainable industry.”

Click the video below to watch a short film on John Dewar & Sons’ sustainability practices.

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