Diageo has announced three new partnerships to help build resilience within smallholder communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, as part of its innovation accelerator, Diageo Sustainable Solutions (DSS).

Julie Nguyen from Opium Bar in Thailand has won the third edition of Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge.

Moët Hennessy has reached new sustainability milestones at three of its vineyards in France (Château Galoupet) and in Argentina (Chandon Argentina and Terrazas de los Andes).

In a global final held on an island in Lake Nicaragua, Carlos Ferron from Panama won the Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge earning a prize of US$10,000 and the title of The World’s Most Sustainable Bartender. Drinks International caught up with the newly-crowned champion.

Since Devon-based husband-and-wife team Russ and Gemma Wakeham launched the carbon-negative Two Drifters rum in 2019, the brand has gone from strength to strength – despite not necessarily doing things the easy way.

It’s got a bad rep for many reasons, but one winery owner thinks plastic is the way forward for more sustainable bottling.

There’s more to sustainability than reducing fossil fuels and planting trees. Shay Waterworth looks at the human side and treating people better.

Rémy Cointreau has announced it has partnered with ecoSpirits to launch a closed loop distribution service in the UK from January 2023.

Young Spirits was founded in 2019 as a small batch bottling site for craft whisky and rum producers. In three years, the business has gone from strength to strength, tripling its revenue and growing from two to 42 employees. 

Coffee liqueur-brand Kahlúa has announced that it will reach a 100% sustainable coffee harvest to cover all production by November 2022.

COP26 littered newspaper headlines throughout November. The focus was supposed to be on resolving the climate change crisis, but predictably turned into a game of political chess. In the absence of any authoritative leadership, our industry needs to set an example.

Drinks giant Diageo have had their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, to achieve net-zero direct emissions by 2030, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as meeting the criteria for the 1.5^oC pathway.

The Macallan single malt Scotch whisky and Bentley Motors have announced a partnership with a key focus on sustainability.

Beam Suntory marked Earth Day 2021 by announcing a $1bn investment in making the business more sustainable. Bacardi took the opportunity to introduce fully biodegradable plant polymer bottles, while Carlsberg announced that it would invest in restoring coastal biodiversity.

Calvados brand Avallen has partnered with National Geographic Traveller Food to launch its new creative campaign designed to drive greater consideration of sustainability and environmental impact within the drinks sector.

Pernod Ricard has teamed up with the United Nations to offer a series of free online training modules to help budding bartenders become mixology maestros.

Doomsday is upon us. On August 2 this year, the human race used more resources from nature than earth can renew in a complete year. And to think the population is now 7.5bn and still increasing is terrifying. But let’s look at some positives.

New Zealand: An organic wine group has set a goal for 20% of New Zealand vineyards to be organic by 2020.

Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan will deliver the keynote address at the World Climate Change and Wine Congress 2011.

A Pinot Noir from the Central Otago region has been named Champion Wine at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

Amsterdam: Heineken has announced a new 10-year sustainability agenda.