FDBusiness.com

The Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery in the heart of the Scottish Highlands is known for its rich tradition of producing some of the world’s finest Scotch – while at the same time, setting industry-leading sustainability standards.

The late 2014 instalment of a biomass boiler at the Aberfeldy site cut the carbon footprint at the home of Dewar’s blended scotch whisky by a whopping 90 percent.

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

“Investment in biomass marks a sea change in the industry approach,” says David Williamson, Public Affairs & 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.”

“We estimate that under the current production schedule, we will reduce our carbon emissions from fossil fuel sources by up to six thousand tons per year of carbon dioxide at the DEWAR’S Aberfeldy Distillery,” adds Iain Lochhead.

As part of the Bacardi group of companies, John Dewar & Sons honors the spirit of sustainability with these benchmarks at its five malt distilleries:

* 34 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2006

* 46 percent reduction in water use since 2009

* 30 percent reduction of waste to landfill since 2010.

The biomass project is part of a broad scope of sustainability initiatives for John Dewar & Sons. Since 2006, when Bacardi began tracking its global impact on the environment, it has reduced non-renewable energy use by nearly 28 percent and decreased its greenhouse gas emissions from production by more than 28 percent.

John Dewar & Sons Ltd. employs 300 people at seven locations throughout Scotland. The company currently operates whisky distilleries in Aberfeldy, Macduff, Aultmore, Craigellachie and Nairn with ageing, blending, bottling and packaging facilities in Glasgow and additional maturation facilities in Poniel in Central Scotland.