Our B Corp Story So Far

In 2025 Clonakilty Distillery received B Corporation™ certification, joining a global movement of businesses that prioritise purpose as well as profit.

This is a big step on Clonakilty’s journey to make a positive impact through its work. It reflects years of thoughtful choices, strong community connections, and a deep respect for the natural land that helps shape its spirits.

We were recognized for our commitment to employee wellbeing, sustainability, and ethical supply chains. We have mapped our full carbon footprint, from energy use to supplier impact, and have a clear plan to cut emissions. As one of the few B Corps in the spirits industry, we are proud to help redefine what business success means.

While B Corp certification is still rare in the spirits industry, Clonakilty is proud to join a growing global community of businesses rethinking what success really means.

We take our sustainability and environmental commitments
seriously. When we say our mission is to create the
best Irish whiskey with the least environmental impact to
land and sea, we really mean it.

We believe that ultimately, whiskey is nature. As a small
company, we may not be able to save the world. But what
we can do, is make a measurable difference today, at our
edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

We pride ourselves on being a grain to glass distillery.
This means we do everything on-site from growing our
own grain to distilling, maturing, blending and bottling;
hence “grain to glass.”

01.

Locally Grown

We minimise our transport carbon footprint by keeping 100% of production operations within the local area. We distill, mature, blend and bottle all our products in the Clonakilty area.

100% of the barley we use in our whiskey is locally grown in Co. Cork.

100% of our local barley growers are IGAS certified (Irish Grain Assurance Scheme), which helps to ensure traceability. 90% of our growers are also members of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), a farmer-friendly scheme to help address biodiversity decline while delivering an income support for up to 50,000 farm families in Ireland.

02.

Sourced Sustainably

We climb the cliffs along our shoreline to sustainably harvest native Rock Samphire, the signature botanical in our Minke Irish Gin, only by hand and only in season.

On the family farm where we grow our heritage barley, and continue to apply sustainable practices, such as min-till farming to improve soil health.

100% of our co-products, residue of the distillation process, are redistributed to local farmers and are used as fertiliser or animal feed. (Co-products are spent grains, pot ale and spent lees).

Spirits production is traditionally a process that uses a lot of energy and water. To mitigate this, we make every effort to use renewable sources and use water efficiently. For example:

100% of the electricity we use in the distillery is made from renewable sources.

The water used to cut our new make spirit is sourced in its natural state from deep wells.

The water used in the cooling system at the distillery is recirculated which reduces water usage.

03.

Recyclable, Sustainable Packaging

98% of our packaging materials are reusable, recyclable and/or compostable.

In 2023, we achieved several of our sustainability goals by:

Eliminating the use of single-use plastic from our online shipping packaging completely.

Redesigned our bottles which now weigh 22% lighter and are made with recycled glass.

04.

Promoting Biodiversity

We are in the process of planting a permanent wildflower meadow to feed and protect pollinators. In addition, we have planted over 400 native trees (silver birch, hawthorn, scots pine, pedunculate oak, flowering cherry), shrubs and hedgerows to provide small habitats for other wildlife.

We have built a large, dedicated bee bank which will provide a burrow for our native bee species for resting and hibernation.

We are proud sponsors of the Whale and Dolphin
Conservation (WDC), the leading international charity
dedicated to the protection of whales and dolphins.

AWARDS

Certified B-Corp

B Corp™ Certification shows that a business meets the high standards of environmental and social performance, transparency and accountability, set by the nonprofit organisation B Lab™. To date, their community includes over 9,900 B Corps in 100+ countries, across 160 industries, employing over 950,000 people.

AWARDS

Origin Green

Origin Green is the worlds’ only national food and drink sustainability programme and enables the industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities more effectively.

In 2026, Clonakilty Distillery were proud to attain Origin Green Gold Membership.

Companies awarded gold membership are required to demonstrate exceptional annual performance in areas such as raw material sourcing, water and energy efficiency, waste reduction, packaging and social sustainability.

AWARDS

ESG AWARDS

Clonakilty Distillery were awarded several accolades at the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards in 2023.

This unique Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) awards program aims to recognise the accomplishments of drinks companies which are at the forefront of sustainability.

The distillery was awarded Best Sustainability Marketing Campaign with our initiative, “Our sustainability story is happening now, not in 2050.” We were also highly commended for Best Sustainable Spirits & Wine Products, as well as Best Sustainable Spirits & Wine Producer of the Year.

BUSINESS SUPPORTER

All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is a collaborative framework uniting various sectors across Ireland to create a landscape where pollinators can thrive.

Established in 2015 to address this pressing issue, the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan partners with local authorities, businesses, farmers, communities, and gardeners. It provides a clear roadmap for managing our environment to support pollinating insects. This is a collective effort: together, we can take steps to restore pollinator populations to healthy levels.

Clonakilty Distillery proudly supports the plan as part of our ongoing initiative, to create a wild meadow, establishing a bee bank, increasing native foliage around our distillery, and fostering a holistic space where staff and nature can connect.

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Our B Corp Story So Far

Our Sustainability story is happening now, not in 2050

From Grain To Glass

Locally Grown

Sourced Sustainably

Recyclable, Sustainable Packaging

Promoting Biodiversity

Social Sustainability

Certified B-Corp

Origin Green

ESG AWARDS

All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

Sustainability Gallery

Our Sustainability story is
happening now, not in
2050