England’s First Net Zero Energy Whisky
The entire Cooper King team is committed to producing sustainable spirits distilled with craftsmanship, honesty and adventure. That’s why our single malt whisky is the first whisky in England to be distilled using net zero energy.
This achievement is the result of six years’ dedication to sustainability, including carbon footprint reduction, and is 27 years ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 net zero target. Click below to view our latest report and find out more.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide cause climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere. They contribute to extreme weather, rising sea levels and threaten human and animal life. Many scientists, governments and environmental practitioners around the world now agree that achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions - as a population - is the only way we can limit catastrophic warming of the planet.
WHAT DOES NET ZERO MEAN?
Put simply, net zero means:
Measuring emissions and taking action to reduce them to as close to zero as possible.
Then: removing remaining emissions so that the net total equals zero.
With the aim of: preventing global temperatures from rising above 1.5ºC.
For a more detailed explanation, take a look at our net zero blog.
HOW DID YOU DO IT?
To achieve net zero energy status, we have spent the last six years developing innovative and sustainable distilling processes, utilised NASA technology paint on our still and sourced 100% renewable energy. Alongside this, we have actively reduced the carbon footprint of our operations to as close to zero as possible. Explore all our sustainable actions here.
We then engaged environmental consultants, Environmental Strategies, to calculate our Scope 1 and 2 emissions¹ from our distilling operations from day one (i.e. when the distillery first fired up, on 1st February 2018). The resulting footprint highlighted that all our hard work had paid off! The total emissions from our own operations to date was a minuscule 0.6 tonnes of CO₂e, equating to an average of 0.1 tonnes of CO₂e per year² (less than a one way economy flight from Leeds to Glasgow).
The final step was to remove or absorb these emissions from the atmosphere.
HOW DID YOU REMOVE YOUR EMISSIONS?
To remove our residual emissions from the atmosphere, we invested in three different projects: Direct Air Capture, woodland creation here in the UK and tree planting overseas. We have ensured that our own emissions to date - and our emissions forecast for next year - have been removed three times over. Our belt and braces approach ensures a transparent and justified net zero status.
Direct Air Capture
We instructed Climeworks to remove 1 tonne of CO₂ from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture. This Swiss company - who are leading the field with this pioneering, new technology - filter CO₂ directly from the ambient air, through an absorption-desorption process, ensuring the permanent removal of CO₂.
UK Tree Planting
In addition to the above we have planted native, broadleaf, UK woodland with our charity partner, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. These trees are estimated to sequester 1 tonne of CO₂ over their 50 year lifespan. Woodland creation also promotes biodiversity, reduces flooding and creates beautiful outdoor spaces for communities to enjoy. Learn about tree planting here.
Overseas Tree Planting
We invested in the Guanaré Forest Plantation in Uruguay - a Verified Carbon Standard project - through the purchase of a verified credit. Choosing a verified project means that we can be certain that a permanent, unclaimed and accurate tonne of CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere, and that the scheme does not harm people or planet. Read more about carbon credits here.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS?
By choosing to enjoy sustainable spirits, you are playing an active part in the fight against climate change.
We value people, planet and prosperity, and demonstrate this through everything we do. We’re a Living Wage Employer, the first distillery in Europe to join 1% for the Planet, and the first in England to produce net zero energy whisky.
In addition, we donate £5 from the sale of every bottle of whisky to Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, to fund life-changing apprenticeships for young people in rural areas, to help protect vital UK habitats. Work undertaken by apprentices includes restoring and protecting precious habitats, including Yorkshire peatlands, which is estimated to safeguard twice the carbon found in forests. 100% of our donations go directly into the programme and we aim to fund at least one apprenticeship (£17,000) per year.
Visit the blog to dig deeper into the benefits of our rural apprenticeship funding.
Scope 1 emissions are all direct emissions from the activities of an organisation or that are under their control. This includes fuel combustion on site such as gas boilers, company vehicles and air-conditioning units. For Cooper King this means the use of gas for space heating (which we no longer use) and gas used for the mini Thorpe still (which we use intermittently for in-house product testing).
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the energy purchased and used by an organisation. For Cooper King this means emissions created during the production of the renewable energy that we source.
A CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) is a unit of measurement that is used to standardise the climate effects of various greenhouse gases.