Diageo’s Speyside distilleries achieve water stewardship certification

Diageo today announced that 11 of its distilleries have been awarded the International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) certification by the Scotland-based Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS).

The AWS Standard is the international standard for responsible water use and encompasses social, cultural and environmental criteria, including engagement with local communities. The Standard recognises continual improvement and commitment to ongoing action in response to the ever-changing nature of water and climate-related threats.

Diageo’s Spey Catchment Group, which includes renowned distilleries like Cardhu, Mortlach and Cragganmore, has been awarded the certification for initiating projects across the River Spey, the most famous whisky waterway in the world, as part of its Spey Catchment Initiative.

The projects were designed to care for water use and improve water efficiency, as well protect against climate-related impacts by improving water balance sustainability, and the business engaged with local communities and stakeholders such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Spey Catchment Initiative, Spey Fishery Board, Scottish Canoe Association, Spirit of the Spey, and others during the certification process.

The River Spey is one of Scotland’s longest rivers and is famous for its fishing and whisky, with 50 per cent of all Scotch whisky distilled on the Spey. The entire river is protected under European legislation as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in recognition of its importance for the protection of biodiversity such as wildlife species, including the Atlantic salmon.

“We know how important it is that we protect the iconic River Spey that makes our whisky special,” Ewan Andrew, chief sustainability officer at Diageo, commented.

“The certification of our Speyside distilleries recognises the efforts we have led in the catchment, to ensure high quality and sustainable water stewardship, so that our natural landscape is preserved for everyone.”

The Spey Catchment Group is the first group of distilleries globally to be certified to the AWS Standard.

“Diageo’s leadership will not only help safeguard one of Scotland’s most important exports, but it also serves as a model to other companies on the power of collective action as water availability becomes less predictable in many places,” Adrian Sym, AWS chief executive, said.

The Diageo Spey Catchment Group includes the following sites: Auchroisk Distillery, Benrinnes Distillery, Cardhu Distillery, Cragganmore Distillery, Dailuaine Distillery, Dalwhinnie Distillery, Dufftown Distillery, Glendullan Distillery, Glen Spey Distillery, Knockando Distillery, and Mortlach Distillery. The Speyside sites have achieved ‘Core Level’ certification.