Sustainability at Glenkinchie
Sustainability has always been at the heart of Glenkinchie, from the way we make our whisky to the way our visitors enjoy our experience. We’re thrilled that our efforts are being recognised by receiving our Gold Award for Green Tourism, the top certification available.
The award recognises our green operating credentials, from zero-waste to landfill, to the sustainability of our distillation process and the high standards of water efficiency and stewardship. Here at Glenkinchie, the lowland home of Johnnie Walker, we’ve also been working on a nature sustainability strategy to encourage pollination and protect wildlife in the local area. This includes the installation of beehives, bat houses, bug boxes, and plantings to attract, feed, and shelter insect pollinators, birds, and other native creatures.
The Garden Distillery
We call Glenkinchie ‘The Garden Distillery’ because we’re heavily influenced by the incredible land and greenery surrounding us. Being in the midst of East Lothian’s abundant lands, full of wild flowers and fragrant grass, has not only made us appreciative of our local environments but also passionate about preserving the natural wonders that inspire our whisky. That’s why our sustainability initiative is so important to us.
As part of our efforts, we’re proud to offer a ticketed shuttle bus service from Edinburgh’s city centre to our distillery which runs on Green Bio Fuels, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90%. So you can opt for the eco-friendly way to travel by leaving the car at home and enjoying our lowland whisky tastings and cocktails during your tour.
There are many more eco-friendly and sustainable aspects to our distillery, which include:
• Free water dispenser at the distillery and visible on the Refill app - to reduce plastic bottles • Cycle racks for those traveling by bike • Bee-friendly plants and beehives
Learn more about our eco-friendly initiatives by taking our, soon to be launched, Whisky in the Wild tour, where you’ll visit our Kinchie burn and Orchards, or enjoy our Flowers & Cocktails class with fresh herbs and flowers to garnish your cocktails with.
We are committed to improving our environmental impact now and in the future. We can’t do this alone though, so we are asking for your support when you visit us. As part of this commitment, we have removed litter bins from the distillery, visitor centre, and surrounding area to help reduce waste at Glenkinchie Distillery and therefore we are asking you to take any litter home with you to help us with this commitment.
We hope the initiatives we have put in place will make a real difference to our environmental impact and we look forward to improving this year on year.
