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Pernod Ricard's scotch whisky business, Chivas Brothers, has announced plans to invest £60 million to reach its goal of carbon neutral distillation by the end of 2026. The multi-year investment was announced alongside Chivas Brothers’ FY23 financial results, which it reported as its “strongest financial performance in a decade,” with 17% growth in net sales. The investment will occur over the next three years and is set to accelerate the brand’s energy and carbon reduction journey, to achieve carbon neutral distillation by the end of 2026. Chivas Brothers’ will use the planned investment to implement heat recovery technologies and install electric boilers across viable distilleries. While driving down its carbon footprint, the brand says it will also invest in strategic inventory management, ensuring a future-fit model that continues to meet the global demand for its Scotch whiskies. Chivas Brothers chairman and CEO, Jean-Etienne Gourgues, said: “The historic highs we’re seeing across our strategic brands signal the success of our premiumisation strategy which has enabled Chivas Brothers to outperform the market. Our highest growth of the last decade reinforces our position to shape the future of sustainable Scotch while continuing to meet demand.” In July, the brand made its carbon-reducing technology available to the wider industry. The move was made after the firm’s heat recovery technology was integrated at Pernod Ricard’s Glentauchers distillery in Scotland, lowering the site’s carbon emissions by 53%. He continued: “We have fast-tracked a number of sustainability initiatives to meet our own ambitious targets and remain committed to supporting the industry in ushering in this new era – as we demonstrated earlier this year by making our heat recovery findings open source”.