Our main wastes, by volume, are the left-over raw materials from the manufacture of spirits, and grape pulp from wine making. Our bottling and production plants generate small quantities of industrial wastes such as glass and paper. Some ethanol escapes to the air as whiskey matures.
Our Approach
Our first priority is to avoid making waste. Some byproducts of our production are inevitable and we work to reduce, reuse and/or recycle as much as possible. The remainder goes to landfill.
Working with our Environmental Performance and Governmental Compliance Group, each facility sets its waste management plan and is responsible for complying with the law and setting targets to reduce and manage its wastes.
What happens to our waste
How we treat our waste is largely determined by the processes that create it, and where it is produced.
Tequila
In Mexico, our Casa Herradura tequila distillery ferments agave plants and creates a leftover called bagasse, which is composted on site and used to fertilize the vineyards and fields.
Whiskey
Whiskey making starts by fermenting a mixture of grains and water, called a mash. After the alcohol is distilled from the mash, a soup-like mixture of grain and water is left. This “stillage” is rich in protein, fat and fiber. Stillage is a food supplement for livestock, and it has always been used by local farmers near our distilleries.
The stillage can be used as a feed in its watery state, or the solids can be separated out. This still leaves an effluent that has to be treated before it is released to the environment.
We are investigating other uses for stillage. For example, a very small quantity is sent to a non-profit group in Louisville called Breaking New Grounds, where it is combined with food waste and coffee grounds from local businesses. It is then sold to raise funds for the non-profit or turned into compost that is used as the foundation to establish community gardens in areas of town that lack access to fresh foods. Although this is unlikely ever to be a large-scale outlet for our distilleries, it is an example of our efforts to work with our local communities.
Barrel making
American bourbon, by law, has to be matured in new, charred oak barrels. At Brown-Forman Cooperage, we make our own barrels from American white oak.
This process creates scrap wood, course sawdust, and fine sawdust waste - which is largely used to fuel the wood-fired boiler at the Cooperage. Excess waste material is shipped to other vendors and reused for fuel pellets, boiler fuel, or animal bedding. Some is used to stabilize managed landfill sites. Our used whiskey barrels are sold to Scottish and Canadian whisky makers, as well as makers of tequila and rum. Some are cut in half and used as planters, or chipped and sold for barbecue smoking.
Bottling and packing
Our bottling facilities create some waste from breakages and packaging. These are industrial plants and also generate small amounts of office and production waste. We work with local organizations to recycle as much of our waste as possible.
Air emissions
Our only significant air emission (other than those from consuming fossil fuels) is the alcohol that escapes from the wooden barrels when whiskey is maturing. This evaporation of product is known in the industry as the “Angel’s Share”, and more technically as a volatile organic compound (VOC). VOCs are regulated emissions because they can contribute to the information of ground level ozone and urban smog. VOCs have varying degrees of ozone-forming potential. Our VOC emissions (ethanol) have a low reactivity. The Angel’s Share does, however, represent a loss of valuable product, and it is in our commercial interests to minimize emissions. We are investigating ways that this can be done without adversely affecting the quality of our whiskeys.