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Researcher(s):
N/A
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: January 2014 Completed: Go to project site
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My research aims to dig into the relationship between Scotch whisky production, sustainability and espousal of an environmental ethic, and Scottish national heritage and image. This means exploring questions regarding motivation of the industry and its representative body the Scotch Whisky Association; my main research question asks what the motivation for the 2010 implementation of the Scotch Whisky Association’s Environmental Strategy program was and continues to be. This ties directly to questions of greenwashing, international influence, and national beliefs/values, among many others. What this questions aims to dig into is the motivation behind the industry restructuring of environmental practices, including concurrent media representation of said restructuring. This includes issues relating to responsible sourcing of second-use American and European oak barrels for aging, preservation of peat bogs necessarily used in the making of peated malt whisky, disposal of effluent and draff created in the distilling process, sourcing of the barley and yeast used in distilling, and inputs necessitated by the packaging and global distribution process.
Key questions include, but are not limited to:
1. What motivated the 2010 implementation of the Scotch Whisky Association’s Environmental Strategy program?
2. More generally, what has driven the industry-wide motivation for sustainability and environmental concern; this question proves especially salient considering that the trend ranges from distilleries directly employing only six people to those behemoths such as Pernod-Ricard and Diageo who employ thousands and hold several whisky labels in their portfolios.
3. Was the move catalyzed by greenwashing efforts, international influences/pressures, national values or beliefs, other factors, or an amalgamation?
4. Scotch whisky proves not only a physical export and an enjoyable drink, but a cultural artifact imbued with meaning; where does said meaning come from, who assigns it, and how does that meaning change nationally and internationally?
5. In what ways does Scotch whisky’s role as a cultural trope and meaning-making object add to a simplification and mythologizing of Scottish culture; in what ways can this prove problematic or essentializing?
My methodology has consisted of a semester-long literature review, and now that I am physically in Scotland has consisted of semi-structured interviews with key industry participants (such as master distillers, distillery managers, and distillery environmental/sustainability coordinators), as well as distillery tours that included informal interactions with guides and distillery staff. I intend to analyse and interpret these interview findings through the lens of Roland Barth's Mythologies, as well as further literature highlighting the nuances of cultural exoticization/essentialization.