Diageo might be the biggest companies that you’ve never heard of - they own and distribute Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Red Stripe, Tanqueray, Dom Perignon…should I go on? Cause there’s more. But (almost) more important than the brands they make is the fact that Diageo has announced the building of a new bioenergy facility in Scotland’s largest distillery. From the press release:

The facility will for the first time integrate sustainable technologies – including anaerobic digestion and biomass conversion – on a commercial scale. It will be the largest single investment in renewable technology by a non-utility company in the UK and is set to reduce annual CO2 emissions at the site by approximately 56,000 tonnes (equivalent to taking 44,000 family cars off the road).

The distillery, once completed, will be able to turn spent wash - the refuse of the distilling process comprised of wheat, barley, yeast and water - into a fuel source to be reused at the plant instead of being shipped offsite. As well, the distillery will be able to recover 98 percent of thermal energy and 80 percent of electrical power. And the drinks ain’t bad, either.

You can takepart by learning more about what bioenergy is and what it does.