Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) has announced plans to purify and clean the waste water from its whisky distillation process at Glenmorangie.
The group has revealed two ‘ambitious’ projects for cleaning out the waste from its Scottish whisky distillery. First it will create an anaerobic digestion plant to purify byproducts from the distillery on the coast. The second plan is called the Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project, or DEEP, which aims to reintroduce native oysters to the Dornoch Firth estuary.
The anaerobic plant is designed to reduce the environmental impact of the distillery by 95%. LVMH said that this initiative ‘reaffirms Glenmorangie’s commitment to protecting and improving the natural environment around the distillery and to being a sustainable business’.
In order to return the native oysters to their old habitat, Glenmorangie has forged a partnership with Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society. Together, the three groups have launched the DEEP project in order to improve water quality, and promote biodiversity in Dornoch Firth.
Native European oyster reefs have been reintroduced to the waters in order to clean out the remaining 5% of the organic waste.
Dr. Bill Sanderson, Associate Professor of Marine Biodiversity at Heriot-Watt, said, “Oyster reefs are among the most endangered marine habitats on Earth and it is thanks to Glenmorangie’s commitment that we have been able to create this project, which we hope will become an example that could be replicated in other parts of the world.”
The oysters will be studied over the coming year by Heriot-Watt University researchers, who will aim to build an established reef within five years.
This will prevent the extinction of the European oyster and create a natural solution to filter out waste from water.
Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. © 2017 European Supermarket Magazine.
