Diageo Opens Carbon Neutral Kentucky Whiskey Distillery - Smart Energy Decisions

Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  September 28, 2021

Diageo Opens Carbon Neutral Kentucky Whiskey Distillery

Diageo announced Sept. 28 that its new Bulleit Bourbon distillery in Kentucky is now operational as its first carbon-neutral whiskey distillery in North America.

The 72,000-square-foot distillery uses 100% renewable electricity to power its electrode boilers throughout the cooking, distillation and dry house processes, as well as onsite electric vehicles, internal and external lighting and equipment. Diageo will receive the energy from Inter-County Energy and East Kentucky Power Cooperative from a mix of wind and solar projects.

The distillery will also deploy a virtual metering system to collect data on the efficiency of its water, electricity and steam usage. It is expected that this platform could avoid more than 117,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually from the facility.

“Two years ago, we set a vision and commitment to build our first carbon neutral distillery in North America,” Perry Jones, president of North America Supply for Diageo,” said in a statement. “Now that the Diageo Lebanon Distillery is operational, I’m incredibly proud of the innovative actions from our teams and partners to fully electrify the facilities and power them with renewable electricity. This is a significant step in our journey to create a low carbon future and be part of the solution to tackle the ongoing climate crisis.” 

Diageo has cut the emissions from its operations in half since 2008 and is working on reaching net zero in its direct operations by 2030, driven largely by the sourcing of renewable energy. The company is also targeting net-zero emissions across its entire supply chain by 2050.

Tags: Diageo

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