Nordic drinks company Altia has revealed an innovative new Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action, the world’s first vodka made entirely from regeneratively-farmed barley.
The new product is the result of Altia’s long-time collaboration with the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG), which aims to restore the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea.
According to Koskenkorva, its Climate Action vodka takes the brand “another step closer to its ambition of being the world’s most sustainable vodka”.
| “What if we could fight climate change by making vodka?” Koskenkorva is an award-winning vodka made from barley and pure, unfiltered groundwater. It is named after the Finnish village it has been made in since 1953. Koskenkorva Vodka’s production is based on the circular economy. The Koskenkorva distillery boasts a 99.9% recycling rate and even the husks of the barley left over from vodka distillation are used to power the distillery’s own bioenergy plant. In addition to grain spirit, the Koskenkorva plant produces starch and raw materials for animal feed while the carbon dioxide generated in the process is collected and used in greenhouse cultivation. |
Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action will be a single estate vodka, as all the barley used in its production was farmed at the Setälä-Eerola farm in the summer of 2020. Farming practices, the brand added, followed BSAG’s guidelines on regenerating agriculture.
Altia Marketing Director of Spirits Suvi Reinikkala said: “Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action is an important innovation for us, because it takes the brand another step closer to its goal of being the world’s most sustainable vodka.
“We want to provide consumers with more sustainable choices and show how we can create inspiring brand experiences while also protecting our planet.”
“We don’t want to do our work at the expense of our planet… we want to act as a pioneer in our industry and set an example for other companies as well” – Altia CEO Pekka Tennilä
Altia launched a sustainability roadmap for 2030 last year. It includes plans to have all contract farmers trained in regenerative farming practices by 2025.
Altia CEO Pekka Tennilä commented: “We don’t want to do our work at the expense of our planet. Sustainable barley farming is one of the ways we aim to honour this goal, as barley cultivation is one of the major factors contributing to the carbon footprint of our products.
“Training our contract farmers provides us with more opportunities to use regeneratively farmed barley in our production. This is an important requirement for making our climate and responsibility objectives a reality.
“We want to act as a pioneer in our industry and set an example for other companies as well,” he added.
Koskenkorva Vodka Climate Action will be available in early 2021 and distributed in the UK by Indie Brands. As reported, InnoTRI recently signed an exclusive distribution deal for the Americas duty free market with Altia.
NOTE: Sustainability will be a key theme within the Knowledge Hub sessions at World of Spirits, a pioneering new virtual expo set to take place on 17-23 May 2021. This unique trade + consumer virtual experience is the world’s first fully virtual event of its kind for the spirits industry.
The Expo is organised by the Moodie Davitt Virtual Expo company, one of the world’s leading business publishers and event organisers, with project leadership from spirits expert Becky Paskin, co-founder of OurWhisky and former editor of Scotchwhisky.com and The Spirits Business.
For further details of this exciting event please contact Martin Moodie at Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com or Irene Revilla at Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com.
