Reducing our operating footprint

At Highland Park, we have set the target of becoming net zero by 2045. It’s an ambitious journey for a 226-year-old Orcadian distillery but we are rising to the challenge.

Our immediate focus is a near-term goal to reduce our full-scope emissions by 50% by 2030. To achieve this goal, we will engage with our key suppliers and partners to map and reduce our scope 3 emissions. We will also reduce our direct emissions by continuing to drive energy and resource efficiencies across all our operations and by establishing initiatives to lower emissions from specific elements of our distillation processes.

While there is much to be done on this journey, we have also achieved a great deal to drive energy and resource efficiencies.

EXISTING ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCIES

• The Highland Park Distillery is certified to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard and operates within key energy and water management efficiency targets, which link our production volume to our key resource use.
• We use 100% verified renewable electricity across our business operations and in January 2024, we transitioned our two Highland Park tour and experience vehicles to EVs.
• We currently hold a SEPA ‘Excellent’ rating for our water management at the Distillery.
• By 2025, we are aiming to reduce the amount of water required within our distillation operations from 17l/lpa (litre of pure alcohol) to 15l/lpa with these efficiencies being driven by the installation of a new mashtun and washbacks.

Current operations at the Highland Park Distillery rely on three fossil fuel sources to produce our whisky – coke, kerosene and peat. Below we outline our approaches to removing, transitioning from, and reducing our use of these sources over time, and in line with our 2030 and 2045 goals.

REMOVING OF COKE FROM HIGHLAND PARK’S OPERATIONS

• We currently use coke – a coal-based fuel with a high carbon content – to dry our malt. 
• During 2024, we will remove coke from our processes through the install of a new heat recovery system.
• This system will allow us to recover heat from the condensers we use in our distillation process and redirect that heat for use in our kilns to dry our malted barley, and elsewhere across our operations and buildings.
• Scheduled for completion in late 2024, the new heat recovery system will not only eliminate the use of coke completely but will also drive further efficiencies by helping to streamline and reduce water and energy use. This will help us to realise a 20% reduction in our direct scope 1 & 2 emissions.

TRANSITIONING AWAY FROM KEROSENE USE

• As there is no natural gas grid supply to Orkney, most premises across the islands rely on shipments of kerosene to fuel domestic heating systems and business operations. 
• At the Distillery, many of our current processes – from our general heating system to steam creation and our cleaning and washing systems – rely on kerosene. Recognising the need to transition to a cleaner fuel source, we are actively reviewing the feasibility of viable alternatives.
• This type of transition means we must consider a broad range of issues around emissions reduction potential, island-specific logistics, planning permissions and capital investment requirements.
• Although complex, we are working towards identifying conclusive recommendations for our business over the course of 2024.

PEAT EXTRACTION, REDUCTION, RESTORATION & PROTECTION

• We source the peat we use to smoke our barley from an area of Hobbister Moor located approximately seven miles west of our distillery in Kirkwall, Orkney. Rich in heather, this peat creates complex floral aromas in our kilns, delivering the distinctive sweet smoky flavours only found in Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
• Hobbister Nature Reserve is a mosaic of internationally and nationally important habitats including saltmarsh, sea cliffs and peatlands. We own and manage this land under license from Orkney Islands Council and we work in close collaboration with the RSPB for the benefit of wildlife, including red-listed species such as Hen Harrier and Curlew. As such we are required to operate in accordance with the strict regulations associated with nature reserve designation that Hobbister Moor has held for almost 50 years.
• The Scotch Whisky Association’s Commitment to Responsible Peat Use (CRPU) Strategy sets out a framework to ensure that all its members are actively engaged in developing and delivering plans for the responsible management of peat use and restoration of peatlands, and we adhere closely to that.
• Read more about our peat reduction, extraction and restoration work to date.