Suntory Global Spirits Gives Back to Society by Planting 7,000 Trees in Kentucky
Suntory Global Spirits Gives Back to Society by Planting 7,000 Trees in Kentucky
Our Suntory Global Spirits team recently put our company values of Growing for Good and Giving Back to Society into practice at a tree planting event in Hazard, Kentucky on April 10. This marks the fourth year of the planting initiative in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Green Forests Work.
80 volunteers, including members of Suntory’s executive and senior leadership teams, planted 7,000 trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains, which have been stripped of trees due to being a former coal mining site.
“Our premium spirits are made with agricultural ingredients, such as grains and agave, and we rely on healthy forests and White Oak trees for the barrels that age our spirits,” said Kim Marotta, Chief Environmental Sustainability Officer and Head of Enterprise Risk Management at Suntory Global Spirits. "Given the significant role White Oak plays in our bourbon barrels, we’re committed to their regeneration. Kentucky is the heartland of our business, so we are very proud to continue supporting this annual event, along with our partners, as we work to accelerate our positive impact in our local communities.”
Kentucky is home to several of Suntory Global Spirits’ iconic brands, including Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, and revitalizing healthy forests and land will support many more decades of whiskey making and the communities around the distilleries.
Our employees' dedication and passion have made a profound impact in the region, contributing to planting 315,000 trees on The Nature Conservatory’s Cumberland Forest property, a key portion of the Central Appalachians and one of the most biologically rich temperate forest ecosystems in the world. The forest protects the headwaters of several rivers, ensuring clean drinking water and supporting aquatic ecosystems downstream. Tree planting supports a healthy ecosystem with carbon sequestration, improved air quality and restored wildlife habitats in the expansive area. Conservation efforts in the Cumberland Forest are helping restore lands impacted by logging and mining and protect against future degradation and ensure long-term ecological health. To date, Suntory Global Spirits has planted over 700,000 trees.
We continue to accelerate our progress to plant more trees than harvested to make our new barrels by 2030. Learn more about our sustainability efforts here.
