One of the global leaders in the wine and spirits industry, Pernod Ricard, recently announced its intention to invest €238 million ($250 million) to build a carbon-neutral distillery for its fast-growing Jefferson’s Bourbon brand in Marion County, Kentucky.
The facility, which will house its American whiskey portfolio, American Whiskey Collective, is expected to become the first distillery of its size in the United States to receive LEED certification. According to the company, the certification is an internationally recognised sustainability framework for healthy, effective, carbon and money-saving environmentally friendly buildings.
Further, the distillery and warehouses will include low-carbon technologies such as electrode boilers powered by certified renewable electricity, enabling the distillery to produce bourbon without using fossil fuels.
The announcement is the latest in a string of environmental sustainability-focused moves by Pernod Ricard, including announcements of €400 million behind extended and more sustainable facilities in Ireland and Scotland.
Earlier this year, Pernod Ricard completed sustainability-linked bond issuances, raising nearly €1.9 billion with the cost of debt tied to performance on its goals to reduce the group’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 & 2) and to decrease the water consumption per unit at distilleries.
Group has committed to reducing the intensity of our Scope 3 carbon footprint by 50% By 2030, from a 2018 base year, covering packaging and points of sale.
“The new distillery will enable Jefferson’s to efficiently keep up with very strong consumer demand while staying true to the company’s longstanding commitment to sustainability”.
– Ann Mukherjee, Chairman and CEO, Pernod Ricard North America