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A whisky that is more environmentally friendly

Diageo was created in 1997 through a merger between Guinness and Grand Metropolitan and is now the world's leading name in beer, wine and spirits. The company has implemented a strategy to reduce energy bills and water consumption at its main site in Scotland.
Business case listing

AN ENERGY-HUNGRY SITE

The Roseisle distillery in the Moray Firth is working to meet international growth in demand for whisky. The site produces premium malts for a variety of brands including J&B and Buchanan’s, with a total output of some 12.6 million liters of spirit a year.

Key challenge: The site’s high energy demand and insufficient recovery of water from whisky distillation after use.


REDUCING ENERGY BILLS AND CO2 EMISSIONS

To rise to this challenge, Veolia developed a unique, innovative solution that includes:

  • producing fuel from draff (spent grain)
  • producing biogas from pot ale (fermented wort)
  • producing steam from fossil fuels, biomass and biogas
  • recycling water

Diageo eventually aims to not only lower energy bills but also to recover and reuse water at the nearby Diageo Maltings site while minimizing any impact on the local aquifer.

 

Key Figures

22,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions prevented

320,000 m³ of water treated and reused at the site

Customer benefits

  • Use of by-products as a source of fuel
  • Smaller carbon and water footprints
  • Lower energy bills
  • Significantly reduced vulnerability to fluctuations in fossil-fuel prices 

Solution

  • Recovering biogas from organic by-products
  • Recovering biomass (a by-product of the distillation process)