Clonakilty Distillery awarded gold membership of Origin Green

The Cork-based distillery has undertaken significant initiatives to bolster its sustainability practices in the past year

Clonakilty Distillery has been awarded gold membership of Origin Green, the world’s only national food and drink sustainability programme of its kind.

Origin Green, an initiative of Bord Bia, only bestows gold membership on companies that have demonstrated exceptional annual performance in areas such as raw material certification, packaging, energy, emissions, and waste reduction.

Situated in Co. Cork, Clonakilty Distillery has undertaken significant initiatives to bolster its sustainability practices in the past year. Notably, they redesigned their bottles which now weigh 22% less and are made with recycled glass.  The company also eliminated single-use plastic from their shipping packaging and transitioned their production process to utilise 100% renewable energy for distilling their spirits.

Michael Scully, CEO of Clonakilty Distillery, expressed his delight at receiving recognition from such a highly respected and independent organisation.

“We set ourselves ambitious targets and this gold membership,” he said, “stands as a testament to the dedication of our team in transforming those aspirations into tangible achievements. It also validates our ongoing efforts to become one of Ireland’s leading sustainable distilleries.’”

Scully added, “We have found new ways to use less water and source ingredients responsibly, while keeping 100% of our production operations within the local area, minimising our transport carbon footprint.”

Karina Collins, marketing manager at Clonakilty Distillery, emphasised the company’s commitment to sustainability. “As a company,” she said, “we took the decision to make our sustainability goals more immediate, rather than committing to distant dates.”

According to a recent report from Accenture, while over one-third of the world’s largest companies have committed to Net Zero targets, an overwhelming majority (93%) will fall short of their goals unless they double the pace of emissions reduction by 2030.

“As a small company, we may not be able to save the world. But what we can do is make a measurable difference today, at our edge of the Atlantic Ocean,” Collins added.

For more information about Clonakilty Distillery and their sustainability initiatives, please visit www.clonakiltydistillery.com/sustainability/