The Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) has said it will support Irish farmers by buying more Irish produce and supplying more co-product for feed. It added that Irish whiskey producers will also need traceability and sustainability credentials for any imported malt, maize or grain.
This was all outlined in the IWA’s sustainability roadmap 2022, which was published this week. The roadmap lays out various “actions” for whiskey producers across sustainability areas, such as energy, grain, wood and water use.
The industry body shared that the Irish whiskey industry purchases over 100,000t of Irish barley and malt annually, and that the production of distilling grade malt in Ireland has increased 400% over the past decade. But highlights that there is also a requirement for whiskey producers to import maize which is not grown in Ireland.
In the IWA’s view, “the Irish tillage sector is leading the way on sustainability in agriculture.” And their roadmap “commits to supporting a sustainable and vibrant future for the Irish tillage sector and to actively supporting both farmers and maltsters to continue to reduce carbon emissions.”
In terms of co-products, the IWA says the whiskey industry in Ireland already provides 350,000t of whiskey co-products, including spent grain or pot ale, to become animal feed annually. However, the sector now plans to “re-use 100% of co-products of production to eliminate all organic waste.
The IWA also stated that whiskey producers will “require that all Irish malt, barley and grain used in Irish whiskey production is certified by the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme (IGAS)”.