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Sustainability has been a trendy term in recent times . Younger LDA drinkers , in particular , care about the carbon footprint and overall environmental impacts made by the brands that they buy . To the credit of many companies , this has helped spur numerous eco-conscious improvements .

Some companies have been at it longer than others , however . Old Pulteney Distillery , in Scotland ’ s far north coastal town of Wick , has a history of sustainability and community assistance that dates back decades . This includes a “ district heating scheme ” in which the distillery helps produce hot water and electricity for the community . Hot water used for heating boilers heads out into the community , while other processes create electricity . The result is cheaper , easier power for Wick .

To discuss these green initiatives , we recently spoke with Malcolm Waring , Pulteney Distillery Manager .

Beverage Dynamics : Tell us about the sustainability efforts at Old Pulteney . Malcolm Waring : It started twenty years ago . Our area was identified as a socially deprived area in Scotland . So we became part of an initiative to alleviate poverty through a district heating scheme .

These sort of systems are really popular in Scandinavia . A lot of people from Denmark came in to lay the pipes . The people behind it were looking for a heat sink , which the distillery is really good at .

This includes a renewable steam system . Twenty-five years ago we were using a mix of light and heavy oil to create steam . Now , 98 % of our steam comes from a woodchip biomass . We take steam from that and we convert it to hot water for the community . And for every tree we use , we plant a new one .

It ’ s a win-win-win-win-win . I genuinely believe that the distillery runs better on biomass fuel than on oil . And the bottom line is , it ’ s more efficient and cheaper for us .

The district heating scheme has since grown . More than 200 houses are on it . We ’ ve been able to take all those people out of fuel poverty . We also help heat a hospital , a community building and a shelter accommodation for old people .

There ’ s talk about growing that system even more . In addition to public heating , private accounts are allowed on it too . They pay for it .

BD : What kind of impact has this had on the local community ? MW : It ’ s not something you can easily quantify or even notice . But obviously it ’ s beneficial . It ’ s put money in people ’ s pockets , and bread and butter on their table , that otherwise they might not be able to have .

BD : During a recent Old Pulteney tasting in Manhattan you mentioned a closed loop water system . MW : I ’ m looking to put that in next year . We ’ ve had a drought in our county the last couple of years . We ’ ve lost 13 weeks of production because of the drought . To combat against that , I ’ m thinking of putting in a closed loop water system .

We would recycle water : we would cool it and reuses it during the hot summer season .

BD : Why is sustainability so important for the industry ? MW : The way things are going in this industry — how in terms of efficiency and sustainability , everything we do is driven by the environment we ’ re in — if we ’ re not looking at that , then there ’ s not going to be a distillery in the years to come .

We ’ re all looking at that now . We have to . We ’ re making spirits from the environment and returning everything back that we can . We use local ingredients . Our spent product goes back into the plant , producing gas for the engine that turns our turbine for electricity . Sludge waste can be used on the land . Everything that we ’ re using from the land goes back to it . We just take a part out of it .

This interview was edited and condensed for publication .

www . beveragedynamics . com July 2023 • Beverage Dynamics 5