No, I’m not talking about whether your liquor has fermented enough. I’m talking about how good, or bad your hard liquor is for the environment. And producers are going to need to shift now to serve their audiences.

As consumers become increasingly eco-conscious, sustainability will be a major trend shaping the spirits industry in 2025. Consumers are not only looking for transparency in production practices but are actively seeking out brands that prioritize eco-friendly packaging and ethical sourcing. According to a 2022 report from Audience Collective U.S., 58% of drinkers said sustainability was important when purchasing alcohol. Millennials and Gen Z are driving this trend, with many willing to switch to a brand that offers a more sustainable option.

Master blenders are making decisions right now on spirits that won’t be tasted for 10, 15, 20, 30, or even as much as 50 years (in some rare cases longer). They have to think about the consumers of the future. The Scotch Whisky Association has set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. Several members of the Irish Whiskey Guild have committed to planting one Native Tree in Ireland per case of six sold.

Shoppers are willing to pay slight premiums for alcoholic products made with natural (22%) or organic (16%) ingredients. That willingness to pay for natural ingredients increases to 30% for younger people aged 18 to 38 who could be at the beginning of their relationship journey with these brands. Further, some people are willing to pay a slight premium for products that are ethically sourced (15%), conserve water (13%), or use environmentally sustainable sourcing (11%).

A recent study of the environmental impacts of Tequila production found that a bottle aged for 6 months generates 2.27 kg of CO2 eq, an impact comparable to other spirits. This is about the same as a serving of cheese or driving a gas powered car 9 miles. The most impactful stages, responsible for most emissions, are bottling, distillation, cooking, and the agave farming phase. The low level of glass recycling in Mexico, the use of fuel oil, and the lack of clean energies aggravate the impact and increase emissions.

But producers are taking a shot at reducing their environmental impacts. Share this with your bartender on World Sustainable Spirits Day, on August 28th. Back in the day, whisky production in the likes of Scotland and Ireland were greener ecosystems simply by the nature of how things were done. Distilleries were built near local raw materials and water supplies while the production process left little to waste as nearly every by-product has an alternative use.

Sourcing and Ingredients

Many distilleries are prioritizing the use of organic and locally grown ingredients, reducing the need for long-distance transportation and supporting local economies. Producers are looking at regenerative agriculture and reusing grains to reduce their impacts. For example, Stauning Distillery sources barley and heather locally and forages peat from nearby bogs.

Choosing organic ingredients, free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, promotes healthier crops and soil. Implementing closed-loop systems and water-saving measures can minimize water waste, says The Tasting Alliance. Organic products may or may not taste any different from conventional/industrial ones, but they tend to treat the soil that the raw plants are grown in better.

Production Processes

Whiskey production is energy intensive, so distilleries want to reduce carbon output through better processes. It used to be that traditional distilleries utilized renewable energy sources, such as water wheels, to power operations, while casks were typically reused and refurbished. Renewable energy sources are something the industry is experimenting with. But there are other issues to address, such as the vast supply chain our industry requires.

Implementing energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources like solar and wind power can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of production. Much water is needed to condense spirits and this water becomes very hot afterward. Distilleries use this hot water to heat warehouses, run it through outdoor piping to help it cool naturally, etc. Some distilleries capture the carbon dioxide from fermentation and sell it to soda companies to use for beverages.

Bruichladdich distillery in Scotland, for example, uses renewable energy and focuses on regenerative farming practices.

Packaging

Packaging almost always has the largest overall environmental impact, because we don’t recycle as much as we should. Packaging matters since much of the carbon footprint of spirits and wine stems from their glass bottles and shipping. Glass has a hefty carbon footprint due to its high manufacturing temperatures and shipping weight. While plastic is a lighter alternative to glass, it brings a whole host of problems from damaging ecosystems to threatening human health.

Distilleries are experimenting with innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, such as recycled paperboard bottles, biodegradable materials, and plastic-free options made from sustainably sourced wood pulp.

Glass is often favored for alcohol because it doesn’t affect the flavor. Therefore, some companies are sticking to a glass-forward approach by lowering the weight of wine bottles or using more environmentally friendly glass furnaces.

In search of greener packaging, some spirit companies are foregoing glass entirely. For example, the Swedish company Absolut Vodka recently released a paper bottle in limited U.K. markets. Eight times lighter than a glass bottle, this recyclable packaging is part of its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The Floridian Distillery 98 also uses recycled paperboard bottles. With a carbon footprint six times smaller than a glass bottle, these bottles also break down much faster than glass or plastic if discarded.

Waste Management

Many distilleries are implementing zero-waste initiatives, recycling and repurposing waste materials, and turning byproducts into other useful products. For example, Bruichladdich repurposes grain byproducts for cattle feed.

The California-based Misadventure Vodka uses unsold baked goods like bread, pastries, and croissants to make spirits with a sweet, cupcake flavor. It also donates leftover waste to a compost facility.

Similarly in Australia, Hang 10 Distillery makes vodka and gin from unsold bread. Driven to protect the oceans and fight climate change, it only uses renewable energy in its facility and strives to be plastic-free.

Bread isn’t the only food we waste, though. Inspired by the Mongolian tradition of making spirits from fermented milk, Black Cow Vodka uses whey to produce its tipple. The surplus whey created during cheese production is often discarded, even though it can be used for fertilizer or other products. One of the British co-founders rescues this overlooked vodka starter from his own dairy farm.

Supply Chain Transparency

Many distilleries are committed to transparent supply chains, ensuring fair labor practices, and partnering with local farmers and communities. Agricultural work is often isolated and inconsistent due to changing harvest seasons and remote locations. This has resulted in seasonal workers that suffer from no social protection and irregular income, many of them migrants, elderly, women, and children. Something that could be mitigated with supply chain transparency in the wine and spirits industry.

Ethical Production

Some brands are pursuing certifications like fair-trade certification, which ensures compliance with labor, social, and environmental standards. Fairfood International Reports explored supply chains of large enterprises in the rum industry and found that sugar was being sourced from local producers in Nicaragua and Guatemala who were working in dangerous conditions. Due to “working long days in warm conditions with lack of access to drinking water, breaks, and shade,” workers contracted devastating chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnT).

Circular Economy

Leveraging recycling technology and increasing the use of recycled materials are crucial for reducing the environmental impact of packaging. What many reports agree on is that recycling is inevitable for smart, sustainable change. For example, reusing materials from recycled aluminum cans for new production generates 85% less CO2e compared to a can made from virgin materials.

Eco-Friendly Whiskeys and Bourbon

Below are some of the companies leading the way in sustainability and helping the industry catch up.

1. Bunnahabhain Distillery

Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay has invested £6.5 million in a new biomass facility which is set to save more than 3500 tonnes of CO2 per year. The Biomass Energy Centre will run entirely off of draff – a Scotch Whisky bi-product – and forest biomass, wood chippings from low value timber felled on Islay, 15 miles away. Ash from the nutrient rich biomass fuel will then be used as natural fertiliser for the replanted forest, creating a circular model for sustainability.

2. Glenfiddich

Glenfiddich became the first global spirits brand to start converting its transport fleet to run on green biogas made from the residues of its own distilling process. Specially developed technology is used to convert production wastes and residues into an Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel (ULCF) gas that produces minimal carbon dioxide, which in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 95%, removing 250 tonnes of CO2 every year.

The biogas is now beginning to power specially converted trucks that handle transport associated with a number of the stages of production of the Glenfiddich spirit.

3. Ardmore Distillery

In 2021, Beam Suntory and its parent company, Suntory Holdings, launched an initiative known as the Peatland Water Sanctuary, a large-scale series of peatland restoration and conservation and watershed conservation projects in Scotland.

The companies plan to invest more than $4 million in the restoration and conservation of peatlands and watersheds throughout Scotland by 2030, with the first project due to begin near the Ardmore distillery in November 2021. In the first phase, nearly 15 hectares of peatland in the Ardmore Knockandy Hill north side slope will be restored, with subsequent projects across other sites in Scotland to follow in the coming years. Overall, Beam Suntory aims to restore and conserve 1,300 hectares of peatland by 2030, and 2,600 hectares by 2040.

4. Bruichladdich

Bruichladdich distillery is known for its focus on using 100% Scottish barley and supporting local agriculture. They also use renewable energy sources and are committed to biodiversity on Islay, where their distillery is located.

They've installed a circulatory heating system to recycle hot wastewater and have switched to 100% renewable energy.

They have launched a project to achieve carbon neutrality and are focused on regenerative farming practices to preserve soil health, reduce chemical use, and support sustainable agriculture. They also repurpose waste materials for eco-friendly purposes, such as turning grain byproducts into cattle feed.

All our single malts have been packaged in a recyclable, secondary steel tin with each glass bottle housed neatly inside. Compared to our previous bottle, the new design reduces our packaging CO2 emissions by 65% through a number of optimised design changes, including the removal of secondary packaging. It also contains an average of 60% recycled glass and is 32% lighter, meaning that we can get more bottles per pallet on to and off Islay – reducing our carbon footprint when it comes to shipping.

5. Glenmorangie

Born in the Scottish Highlands, home of my old family and the highland cattle, Glenmorangie’s Sustainable Distilling Program focuses on reducing water waste and improving energy efficiency. They have also invested in anaerobic digestion plants that treat waste products, ensuring cleaner water is returned to the environment.

Glenmorangie has partnered with the DEEP Project, which focuses on restoring oyster reefs in the Dornoch Firth. This natural filtration system helps improve water quality and enhances the marine ecosystem around the distillery.

6.Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace is committed to environmental stewardship with initiatives like reducing water and energy use during production and recycling materials wherever possible.

They’ve built their own water treatment plant to return clean water to the environment and utilize a closed-loop cooling system to minimize water waste. They launched a project to through the White Oak Initiative, planting of 1,066 trees on the farm.

7. Wild Turkey

Kentucky makes 95% of the world’s bourbon and Wild Turkey is leading on sustainability. They are part of the Sustainable Spirits Initiative as are Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Woodford, and Heaven Hill. Formed in 2011, the Sustainable Spirits Initiative grew out of a growing demand from industry experts to get together and share their experiences on environmental issues.

Wild Turkey has made strides in sustainability by using renewable energy in their distillation processes and prioritizing water conservation. They’ve also integrated recycling programs for materials used in production.

The distillery actively participates in restoring and protecting the Kentucky River watershed and surrounding ecosystems. They employ a closed-loop cooling system that recycles city water, reducing reliance on the Kentucky River and minimizing water discharge temperature.

They also use sustainable farming practices for the grains used in their whiskey.

8. Maker's Mark

*Purple martins are used instead of pesticides*

As a B-Corp, Maker's Mark is now part of a small but growing circle of global companies leading the way in creating a more sustainable future.

Star Hill Farm, where Maker’s Mark is grown is proud home to the world's first distillery to achieve Regenified™ Tier 3 certification, innovating in regenerative agriculture that is as vital to the future of our land as the taste of our bourbon.

Maker’s Mark is committed to sustainability by using non-GMO grains and locally sourced ingredients. They are also heavily focused on water conservation and energy efficiency at their distillery.

At Star Hill they have a variety of programs that help achieve their zero landfill waste goal, from recycling and composting to pulverizing used glass into soft sand on trailways.

The world's first whisky cellar and the home of Maker's Mark® 46 is LEED® certified, another commitment to sustainability. The vegetative roof provides significant environmental benefits.

Maker’s Mark is involved in several projects on its 684 acres to provide a habitat for wildlife and natural controls for insects. The facility has established a wetlands area near Hardin’s Creek. In an effort to forego chemical spraying in the lake watershed, several purple martin houses were hung near the lake to promote the population of the birds, which are a natural control for insects.

9. Jim Beam

Jim Beam-Boston uses eco-friendly methods of keeping the insect population under control by scattering nesting boxes for bats, wood ducks and Eastern Bluebirds around the wastewater lagoons.

Just one bat can eat more than 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. Wetlands between the lagoons and Mud Run Creek are a popular location for wildlife.

The Jim Beam-Clermont American Stillhouse visitor center, which is LEED-gold certified, is designed to be sustainable while reflecting the history of the Jim Beam Distillery in its physical appearance.

A geothermal heating and cooling system uses heat energy from deep underground to heat or cool the building. Geothermal technology is 50 to 70 percent more efficient than furnaces or boilers and 20 to 40 percent more efficient than most air conditioners.

Jim Beam-Boston has been seeking ways to cut energy usage at the facility and began with an energy audit. As a result, the facility is now on an electric demand system and paying $39,000 per month, which will save $130,000 due to the billing process.

10. Woodford Reserve

This Kentucky bourbon distillery has implemented several sustainability measures, including water conservation, sourcing grains locally, and using sustainable farming practices for their raw materials. A whopping 98% of all waste is recycled.

Woodford Reserve has ongoing projects that focus on wildlife conservation and reforestation efforts near their distillery. They use recycled glass for their bottles and operate with minimal waste during production.

11. Heaven Hill

Heaven Hill uses sustainable grain sourcing and is committed to reducing water and energy usage in their distillation process. They have saved 20,000 gallons of water per day at the Bernheim distillery by placing condensers for two stills on a cooling tower loop instead of city water.

They actively work towards reducing emissions and water waste, and they recycle a large portion of their packaging materials.

They donate $5 of the proceeds to a local non-profit organization, up to $10,000. They’ve partnered the Bernheim Forest, a land conservation trust donated to Kentucky in 1929 by distiller Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, after whom the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville is named. The forest’s easement covers 25.5 square miles and all funding goes to protecting that land and its habitats for migratory birds, bats and myriad other species that call Bernheim home.

12. Brother’s Bond Bourbon

Bourbon brand Brother’s Bond was founded by The Vampire Diaries actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. In summer 2024 it teamed up with WhistlePig Whiskey to support regenerative agriculture in the US, launching Brother’s Bond Regenerative Grain Straight Bourbon. It is made with regenerative grain from North Carolina, distilled and aged within 20 miles of the fields at the Southern Distilling Company.

US farmers can save US $400 per acre through regenerative methods, which require less intervention, while capturing substantial amounts of carbon, building biodiversity, reducing pollution, providing much-needed income for agricultural communities.

They’ve even added coffee. The Espresso Regentini, which is made with certified regenerative coffee beans from Kiss the Ground, as well as the Carbon Capture Cold Brew, a bourbon-forward spin with a touch of sweetness.

They partner with Kiss the Ground to promote soil health and have a goal of supporting 100 million acres of regenerative farmland by 2030. Every bottle of Brother’s Bond helps support this transition, with 1% of our sales donated to advancing soil health.

13. Greenbar Distillery

Drink a standard 4oz cocktail made with 1.5 oz of Greenbar Distillery spirits and you’ll be carbon negative for the day.

By using only certified organic ingredients, their spirits help maintain clean farmland and groundwater and prevent adding artificial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or genetically modified organisms to our world.

By reducing packaging waste and pollution through lightweight bottles and 100% post consume waste recycled labels (and avoiding frosting, plastics and metallic paints).

They support Sustainable Harvest International, which treats carbon credits holistically and helps small-scale farmers earn a viable living through regenerative agriculture and rainforest restoration.

The 13 Most Refreshing Eco Friendly Whiskey and Bourbons For Your Summer Parties