The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States announced it has been accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a partner of its ENERGY STAR program.

As part of this partnership, the Spirits Council will promote tools and insights provided by the program to help the spirits industry understand best practices related to energy efficiency in distilleries and other facilities.

As part of the ENERGY STAR program, DISCUS will encourage members to:

• Measure and track the energy performance of facilities, operations, and commercial new construction projects using tools such as ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for buildings, ENERGY STAR Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs) for plants, and others offered through ENERGY STAR;
• Develop and implement plans consistent with the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy Management to achieve energy savings;
• Promote the importance of energy efficiency, and the value of partnership with ENERGY STAR, to stakeholders, such as staff, association members, peer organizations, suppliers, and the community at large, and facilitate energy savings among these stakeholders through competitions, campaigns, and other engagement, where possible; and
• Highlight achievements by pursuing ENERGY STAR recognition and publicizing the accomplishments and recognition received by successful programs.

“The distilled spirits industry has been long invested in efficient energy use to protect our environment and natural resources,” Chris Swonger, President & CEO of the Spirits Council, said. “This exciting new partnership with the EPA will support the spirits industry in maximizing resource utilization and eliminating waste at every step of the production process from grain to glass.”