Scotch whisky maker Nc’nean Distillery has launched a bottle-return scheme in the UK.

Nc’nean is including a free-post returns label with bottles that have been ordered through the company’s UK website. The returns label is included with the bottle’s delivery note.   

The distiller has claimed each returned empty whisky bottle will save an estimated 280g of carbon.

“If every bottle of whisky bought from a distillery’s website in Scotland could be returned for refilling, the collective carbon savings would be enormous,” Nc’nean founder Annabel Thomas said.

“It’s an opportunity to significantly reduce waste and protect the environment – as fierce protectors of nature, it’s an initiative we are proud to lead.”

Nc’nean specialises in single-malt Scotch whiskies using organic barley. Its portfolio includes its Organic Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the Quiet Rebels Gordon single malt Scotch and an Organic Botanical Spirit.

Nc’nean’s spirits are distributed in the on- and off-trade across the UK. They are also sold at specialist retailers in continental Europe in markets including Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries.

The distiller’s Organic Single Malt Whisky is sold in the US and exports to Canadian provinces of Québec.

Nc’nean was granted B Corp certification in 2022 and claims it became the first whisky distillery in the UK to gain net-zero status for its operations in 2021.

Based in Drimnin in the Morvern peninsula, Nc’nean’s distillery is powered solely by renewable energy. Its two copper pot stills are fuelled by a biomass boiler that runs off of locally sourced wood chips.

In April, the UK’s long-discussed deposit return scheme (DRS) for beverage packaging was delayed to 2027, as the government prepares a single rollout across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The scheme is expected to be operational by October 2027, nine years after originally promised by then Environment Secretary Michael Gove.