Highlights
- Ambitious target to be Net Zero for scope 1 and 2 by 2028
- Produced the world’s first gin from peas and vodka from ‘wonky’ potatoes; all grown on the farm, with by-products fed to livestock
- Green hydrogen plant will replace fuel oil consumption by 40%; making Arbikie the world’s first hydrogen powered distillery
- Nadar climate positive range accounts for the largest portion of sales; turnover increased from £339,000 in 2021 to over £1million in 2023
Arbikie Distilling is a family-owned working farm near Montrose driven by a passion for authenticity and a deep connection to the land. The distillery has a ‘field to bottle’ philosophy; from planting and harvesting the grains to distillation and bottling. They have embedded sustainability into the business and aim to be one of the most sustainable distilleries in the world. The scale of their achievements is particularly impressive, given their small size.
The company has a detailed Net Zero Action Plan which is aligned to the Science Based Targets Initiative, with an ambitious target to be Net Zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2028, and for all scopes by 2045. The Net Zero Committee within Arbikie includes representatives from across the business and is responsible for strategic direction and implementation of the Net Zero Plan. There is open communication across the organisation, environmental awareness training for new staff in addition to ongoing staff learning, and opportunities for collaboration and identifying opportunities for sustainability improvements.
Arbikie have produced the world’s first gin from peas and a vodka from ‘wonky’ potatoes; all grown on the farm, with by-products spread back to the land, fed to livestock or reprocessed for hydrogen production. Using peas to produce gin rather than the traditional wheat avoids 2.2kg CO2e per litre of gin produced. By using regenerative agriculture practices and intercropping peas with their cereal crops, Arbikie are also reducing their need for artificial fertilisers and the associated carbon emissions.
Their Nadar climate positive range accounts for the largest portion of sales, with turnover increasing from £339,000 in 2021 to over £1million in 2023. Arbikie Distillery’s success has enabled employment of 41 full time employees from the local area, compared to only 12 in 2021.
Arbikie have plans for installation of a green hydrogen plant in 2025, this will be a substitute for 40% of fuel oil, achieving significant progress towards their scope 1 Net Zero target. It will also make Arbikie the world’s first green hydrogen powered distillery.
Arbikie engage in STEM activities with local schools and host other learning visits around regenerative agriculture.
Other support to the community includes regular charity work with Lunan Bay Community Trust, which includes providing the distillery as a venue for community meetings. They are committed to sharing their field-to-bottle sustainable approach to distilling; including through openly publishing and sharing their learning from research projects with James Hutton Institute, with the aim to inspire others to adopt similar approaches.