Tennessee Sustainable Spirits
Tennessee is home to world class whiskey, wine, beer, and other fine spirits. The craft spirit producer’s connection to people, land, and resources is a relationship in which sustainability plays a vital role.
Tennessee Sustainable Spirits (“Sustainable Spirits”) is a voluntary recognition and technical assistance program administered by TDEC’s Office of Sustainable Practices (OSP) which seeks to reduce operational costs and environmental impacts for wineries and wine growers, breweries, and distilleries as well as serve as a gateway to sustainability education through popular brands. The new voluntary program will assist wineries and wine growers, breweries, and distilleries in improving operational sustainability by promoting best practices, providing technical assistance, and developing relationships.
Sustainable Spirits recently completed an initial pilot to determine the final parameters of the program and is now open for applications! See below for more information on applying.
Founding Members
The program is now open to statewide participation from all distilleries, wineries, and breweries. To Apply for the program, visit the "Apply for Tennessee Sustainable Spirits Program" page.
Process for Applying
- Admission into the Sustainable Spirits program is based on a spirits producer meeting a minimum of 25 operational and facility sustainability activities (within the TNSS Sustainability Checklist) as well as submitting annual production and utility data.
- Once an application for acceptance in the program is received, the sustainability measures will be verified by an on-site review performed by OSP staff.
- Following the site visit, OSP staff will develop a report for the business which details practices in place, and energy and water use ratios (energy/water used per consumption) as well as opportunities for improving facility sustainability measures.
Program Highlights
- Acceptance into the program will get the business recognition on the Sustainable Spirits website, access to technical assistance offerings, and other exciting opportunities.
- Access to the use of an exclusive Tennessee Sustainable Spirits logo.
- In addition to an on-site audit and member report, Sustainable Spirits will feature a suite of online sustainability resources, semi-annual webinars, and Tennessee specific resource guides.
- Annual recognition ceremony for new members.
- Ultimately, the Sustainable Spirits program hopes to leverage these new and unique partnerships to serve as a gateway to sustainability for citizens across Tennessee.