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Muckle Brig on communicating your net zero story: ‘Be proud of the work you’re doing’

Many organisations in Scotland overlook an important part of the net-zero package: telling the public what they're doing. But communicating this well can have a ripple effect in your community, inspiring other businesses to take climate action.

We sat down with Muckle Brig, an Edinburgh-based producer and distributor of wine and spirits, to discuss what they’ve learnt about communicating net zero progress to customers.

Muckle Brig is the umbrella company behind Lind & Lime Gin Distillery, Port of Leith Whisky Distillery and The Leith Export Company. They have a team of 75 staff across production, hospitality, sales and visitor experience, who give tours of their two Leith distilleries.

Sustainability is not just about making the company resilient in a rapidly changing climate. It’s also a central principle of their brand, which focuses on producing a premium product “with integrity,” explains Fraser Walker, Muckle Brig’s sustainability executive. His job is to integrate this into their operations across the different areas of the company.

Carbon reporting

After joining the Net Zero Edinburgh* cohort in March 2024, Muckle Brig published their inaugural Carbon Report. It presents their annual carbon emissions data and the main sources: gas, vehicles and waste. For transparency and accountability, they have clearly explained which emissions sources they haven't included yet and why.

Publishing their carbon report (now front and centre on their website) was a significant achievement – one that most SMEs are still working towards. But Fraser confesses that “carbon reporting is not necessarily where people’s interests lie.”

“It’s carbon reduction and action that people are really interested in seeing.”

Celebrating success

He shared some of the progress they’ve made so far, and how they are communicating it:

  • Lind & Lime Gin is 100% organic, plastic free and the distillery is 100% electric – facts that are all creatively depicted on the tissue paper that packages each bottle.
  • Port of Leith Whisky uses locally sourced barley grown 15 miles from the production site.
  • They encourage visitors to take public transport to their venues, publicising this on their website and advertisements on Edinburgh Trams.
  • In 2023 they achieved B-Corp certification, demonstrating their commitment to both people and planet. 
  • In 2024, they were awarded the Green Tourism ‘gold’ award for their commitment to sustainable tourism practices through their distillery tours. 

The distillery tours are one way they tell their net zero journey and make those actions visible to customers. For example, the Lind & Lime Gin tour celebrates the thoughtful design of the company and its products, from organic ingredients and recycled glass to efficient operations and plastic-free packaging.

They recognised that their public-facing staff were key to conveying this message, so feedback and questions from customers are passed on to the Sustainability Team. The guides receive regular training about the company’s carbon and sustainability initiatives, so that they feel confident presenting them.

Getting creative

Not all customers have the opportunity to visit a Muckle Brig distillery, so the team is getting creative with communication. The sustainability team meets with marketing and product development colleagues each month to brainstorm new ideas, such as their reusable, organic cotton Furoshiki cloth wraps.

Muckle Brig’s next step, Fraser explains, is to conduct an impact and materiality assessment to understand which types of messaging resonate with different audience groups. They hope this will enable them to more effectively highlight their net zero, sustainability, and social responsibility initiatives to the public.

Top tips from Muckle Brig

  1. “Do your carbon reports internally. Don’t use a consultant. There’s so much value created from having followed this process with Climate Springboard. It took several months but we’ve been able to communicate it better, train people on it better and engage every department in a cohesive project. How many projects do you get to do that for?” 
  2. “A metric carbon footprint [such as tonnes of CO2 per litre] is infinitely more valuable than the actual baseline number because it communicates what you’re doing on the ground to reduce the carbon in your operations – as you grow”.
  3. “Be proud of the work you’re doing and sing about it”.

Learn more

Feeling inspired?

We invite you to sign up for Climate Springboard, a free business support programme by Edinburgh Climate Change Institute. It’s designed to equip SMEs in Scotland with the knowledge and tools to start out on their journey to net zero. 

It lasts just over a month and is completely free. At the end, attendees leave with a company carbon footprint, a template for a long-term net-zero strategy, and a tailored list of quick ways to lower emissions and costs.

*Muckle Brig participated in a cohort delivered as part of the Net Zero Edinburgh project which is managed by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. The project is funded by the UK Government and the City of Edinburgh Council and supports Edinburgh’s SMEs on their net zero journey.