Sustainable scotch: Hebridean distillery aims for net zero whisky

Islay's 9 distilleries burn 15m litres of oil a year. Now Bruichladdich is leading a radical effort to reduce emissions

Like the other famous malt whiskies made on Islay, Bruichladdich heavily promotes its idyllic island location, carefully selected Scottish barley, clear Hebridean water and loving attention of its craft distillers.

But Bruichladdich is confronting a significant problem. Like its neighbouring distilleries, and many more of Scotland's 134 whisky producers, it relies on fuel oil, brought in on diesel-powered ferries, to fire the boilers. Islay's nine distilleries burn 15m litres of oil each year. Ironically, this beautiful spot may well have the highest per capita CO₂ emissions of any community in Scotland.