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INSIDER

Sustainability, ethics key priorities for Brown-Forman

Sustainability has always been an
important focus for Brown-Forman and its
flagship brand Jack Daniel’s.
Climate action, water stewardship,
circularity, sustainable packaging,
sustainable agriculture, and sustainable
forestry all play key roles in the process
of bringing the Brown-Forman spirits to
market.
Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris
Fletcher tells TMI that the company’s
sustainability efforts have roots going
back to the 1990s when Jack Daniel’s
started a partnership with the University
of Tennessee to replant hardwood species
within the state that were under distress.
“We focused on hard maple first,
which is very important to Jack Daniel’s, David Rodiek, Vice President, Managing Director Global Travel Retail, B-F; Chris Fletcher, Jack
as we then make charcoal out of it. Then Daniel’s Master Distiller; and Maike Ladebeck, B-F Corporate Communications at the 2023 TFWA
white oak, which is critically important for World Exhibition.
American whiskeys, along with some black
walnut. We started planting tree farms in natural gas. That gas will be captured, water balance by 2030.
the late 1990s,” says Fletcher. compressed, and pumped into a crude line “We now own about 3,000 acres in
“It takes decades for these trees to where it will go out and be refined. So we the county. Much of that is protecting the
mature and to be able to produce acorns will literally be making natural gas from groundwater. And, of course, so we can
and things that can become seedlings. But the waste distilling. That’s a big one that have barrel houses to age our whiskey. We
it’s amazing to see these trees today.” we have on our radar,” says Fletcher. want to pull as little water out of that cave
The company is committed to the as possible. Several times over the years
conservation of the existing hardwood Solar farm and watersheds we have looked at a way of running the
forests it depends on for its white oak “Brown-Forman is also building distillery on what we call a thicker mash.
barrels and sugar maple charcoal. a solar farm about eight miles from the This will enable us to use less water per
distillery that will drop our energy usage by bushel of grain. To put it in perspective,
Reducing emissions with zero waste about 30 to 40%.” back in the 1980s, we would have needed
Brown-Forman has also committed to Fletcher says Brown-Forman is about 35 gallons of water from that cave
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions committed to protecting the health of key for every one bushel of grain that we
across its owned operations and supply watersheds in its communities, with the brought in. Now, we do about 23 gallons,
chain with the goal of halving its emissions goal of ensuring that 100% of its high-risk we’ve reduced water use by over 30%.”
by 2030 and becoming net-zero GHG and business critical watersheds achieve Sustainable packaging is already
emissions by 2045. showing up in travel retail.
Jack Daniel’s is even making natural Late last year, Brown-Forman
gas from its grains. The company is announced a new Jack Daniel’s Tennessee
committed to zero waste and transforming Whiskey 50ml bottle produced from 100%
the way it conducts business using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic for
circularity principles, designing out waste, airlines, representing a step forward in
and keeping products and materials in use. the company’s sustainability journey. The
“At Jack Daniel’s we’ve been zero new 50ml bottle replaces the existing 15%
waste for the last several years. At the PCR bottle across all U.S.-based airlines,
distillery our grains had predominately beginning with Delta Airlines in late
been used for animal feed. However, Summer 2023.
we’ve just broken ground in the last “The Jack Daniel’s 50ml 100% PCR
few months and in 12 to 18 months will bottle initiative is part of Brown-Forman’s
complete an anaerobic digestion facility in broader commitments to environmental
Lynchburg. This will take the spent grains responsibility and highlights our ongoing
from the bottom of the still, which are efforts to reduce our environmental
non-fermentable, and pump them into the footprint and promote a circular economy,”
digester, where microbes will break down said David Rodiek, Vice President,
all of the organic material into methane Managing Director Global Travel Retail. B

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