North British Distillery secures £3m to help build green-energy plant

The North British Distillery, one of Scotland's largest Scotch grain whisky producers, has secured a £3 million facility from Lloyds Banking Group, to improve its energy efficiency.

It will support a three-year, 9m investment programme that will see the Edinburgh-based plant generate 33 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable sources.

Lloyds said the new debt facility has been specifically earmarked for the programme, which includes the installation of a biogas boiler and gas engine that will enable North British to generate its own electricity through a process known as anaerobic digestion.

The business hopes to save between 9,000 and 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year from the programme.

North British, based in Edinburgh's West End since 1885, already recycles residual low grade waste heat, produced by the distillation process, to heat classrooms at nearby Tynecastle High School.

The supply enables the school to make significant energy savings and to reduce its own carbon dioxide emissions by 500 tonnes per annum.

The distillery is a joint venture between Diageo and Edrington and does not market a brand of its own. Almost its entire production is sold for blending in brands such as The Famous Grouse, J&B Rare, Johnnie Walker Black Label and Cutty Sark.

Andrew Clark Hutchison, relationship director at Lloyds's corporate markets team in Edinburgh, said: "Our relationship with North British goes back almost to the moment of its establishment 125 years ago, so we are particularly pleased to be part of an innovative sustainability strategy for the business.

"The new debt facilities enable North British to implement changes that will not only reduce its impact on the environment, but also generate financial savings. The management team are firmly committed to running a sustainable business and we are pleased to support them in achieving that goal."

David Rae, managing director of North British, said: "Scotland's whisky industry is at the forefront of harnessing renewable technology to reduce its impact on the environment. Our sustainable business strategy will enable North British to make savings in terms of energy costs while at the same time significantly reducing the environmental impact of our production process.

"We hope to save between nine and ten thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from this investment programme, contributing significantly to the Scotch whisky industry's global target of sourcing 80 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2050."Our relationship with Lloyds has been a long and fruitful one, helping the distillery to expand into one of Scotland's largest and most efficient grain whisky producers, contributing to some of the world's most popular blends."