Diageo boosts efficiency with distillery shutdown
Bulleit owner Diageo has temporarily paused production at its carbon-neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky to support the firm’s productivity goals.
The Diageo Lebanon Distillery is a 72,000-square-foot facility that uses 100% renewable electricity. The site produces up to 10 million proof gallons per year without using fossil fuels and is one of the largest of its kind in North America.
The distillery was established in partnership with Inter-County and East Kentucky Power Cooperative, and upon completion of the build, it created 30 full-time jobs.
Now, a Diageo spokesperson has confirmed the company has paused production and barrel filling at the site until the summer.
“Every year we run standard temporary slowdowns or shutdowns across our operations to support our efficiency and productivity goals. Since we are ahead of schedule with the volume we produce at the site, this year we decided to temporarily pause our distilling operations and barrel-filling activity through June 2025.
“During this time, some of our employees will support work at our Shelbyville facility while the remaining group of employees will work on strategic projects, conduct trainings to continue building capabilities and maintenance processes to position our sites for a successful start of our next fiscal year.”
Diageo’s fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June.
The facility complements Diageo’s commitment to sustainability as part of its Society 2030: Spirit of Progress plan. The company is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from all direct operations by 2030.
The site saves approximately 117,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, which is the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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