At the risk of starting this off on a note of impending doom, the global climate crisis is a serious and urgent matter. Undoubtedly all industries are or will be affected by it consequences, including whisky. Scotch production is an energy intensive industry and distillers have a responsibility to make eco-friendly changes wherever possible.
Of course many distilleries already have environmentally conscious practices at the heart of the business operations, but there’s undoubtedly more that can be done across the industry. With that in mind, one of the largest producers in Scotland is supporting two pioneering sustainability initiatives.
Chivas Brothers have recently partnered with a number of organisations to facilitate different projects geared towards improving sustainability within the Scotch whisky industry. The Pernod Ricard owned group have pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2026 and these developments are the latest steps towards achieving this goal.
Firstly, Chivas Brothers have partnered with their wheat supplier Simpsons Malt to invest in an innovative pilot-run for Nutramon Low Carbon fertiliser. As the name suggests, this is a specialised fertiliser that greatly reduces carbon emissions.
The fertiliser was created by OCI Global, a world leader in manufacturing and supplying products that facilitate the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries. It is made using certified biogas which could potentially reduce the carbon footprint of grain production by 50% when compared to standard fertilisers. Importantly the new fertiliser is just as effective and efficient as those currently used by the industry.
Chivas Brothers have estimated that implementing this fertiliser for growing the barley and wheat they use could result in a 15-20% reduction in their overall carbon output.
Wheat Growers Group will operate the pilot and use the fertiliser to harvest crops at selected farms between August and October 2024. They provide much of the wheat grown used to make the grain whiskies that are such an important part of Chivas’s portfolio of blends. At present, it is believed whisky made from these grains will be destined for the Ballantine’s blend.
Data will be collected and shared by the Wheat Growers Group regarding the use of the eco-friendly fertiliser and - if the trial is successful - Chivas and Simpsons Malt will aim to launch a wider roll-out of the product.
Ronald Daalmans, sustainability director at Chivas Brothers, has said the group are “on a mission to reduce carbon emissions throughout our supply chain and that requires us to be at the forefront of new innovations that come to market. We cannot do this alone, which is why like minded partners such as Simpsons Malt Limited and OCI Global are so important to helping us realise this ambition. Together with our farming community, we’re limiting the environmental impact of cereal crops destined for our whiskies.
“We look forward to continuing and expanding this initiative, as well as sharing our findings and experiences with the wider farming and whisky industries to help drive positive change across Scotland and beyond.”
The second piece of news has less to do with actual whisky production and more to do with managing the process’s waste. Chivas are less directly involved with this development, but are nevertheless providing valuable assistance to the project.
Scientists from RIPCELL - a chemical manufacturing business - have collaborated with a team from the University of Aberdeen to research the feasibility of recovering high value compounds from the distillation process. These compounds include things like lactic acid derived from the pot ale and spent lees (the residue left in the stills after the first and second distillations).
This new method of extracting bio-chemicals from distillery waste is called liquid chromatography. One source said the separation process could turn spent lees into ‘liquid gold’ as it could be worth up to £90 million to the manufacturing industry. These chemicals are used in a range of industries - ranging from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics -, and typically derive their materials from unsustainable, petrochemical-derived ingredients.
Initial research has suggested that using bio-based chemicals such as those reclaimed from whisky-waste could reduce the global manufacturing industry’s emissions by 392 million kilograms of carbon per year.
Pot ale has traditionally been recycled for animal feed within the whisky industry, but spent lees are largely discarded. Around a third of the charge that goes into the second still for distillation remains in the still as spent lees. This is a large contributor to the estimated 2.6 billion litres of waste water produced by the whisky sector annually.
Dr Eve Wildman, RIPCELL founder, explains: “the potential of this process is huge. For decades, the majority of these co-products have been used as animal feed, but we have found a new, more valuable option to deal with spent lees that could change the ways in which distilleries manage and process their residues.
“At the same time, this could be transformational for the chemicals industry. By taking a sustainable approach to manufacturing key compounds, rather than using fossil fuels, RIPCELL can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the production process.”
One issue the study faces is that, due to the variations in raw materials, water sources and the distillation process at different distilleries, the spent lees from each distillery will contain different chemical compounds.
This is where Chivas Brothers are stepping in. The spirits producers have provided samples from waste streams from 12 of their distilleries across Scotland for the study. With the help from this data, the study will look into the feasibility of scaling up the process to an industrial level.
It goes without saying that the science behind this innovation and its far reaching implications is incredible. It’s great to see a large Scotch producer such as Chivas Brothers get involved to help it along. Alan McCue, senior lecturer at University of Aberdeen, summed it up best: “It’s great to see Scottish heritage being linked to sustainable chemical production.”
These developments are only recent examples of Chivas Brothers working to achieve their ambitious 2026 net zero targets. Last year the group pioneered the use of new heat saving technology at their Glentauchers site. Following a successful trial the technology was set to be introduced at all their viable distilleries.
Chivas Brothers also made the findings from their research publicly available and invited distillers to witness the technology in action. This was no eco-flex by the group however; rather, it was hope to improve further cooperation on green initiatives within the industry.
Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers Jean-Etienne Gourgues claimed that “protecting the planet is a precondition for the future of [the whisky] industry”. He believed in putting “collaboration ahead of competition” in order to achieve the industry’s shared goal of increasingly sustainable production.
The group’s recent work supporting other sustainability projects gives further credence to Gourgues’ statements. With such a large force within the industry taking the lead in these matters, hopefully many more will follow suit.
