Today, sustainability has become more important than ever to businesses, and because of that, many have set goals to become carbon-neutral in the future and others claim to already be there. But what does it actually mean to be “carbon neutral?”

To understand carbon neutrality, we first need to understand the idea of a carbon footprint. A carbon footprint refers to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular entity. There are a wide variety of activities that result in carbon emissions that range from electricity and natural gas consumption to travel and manufacturing and more.

The goal of carbon neutrality is to get your carbon footprint to be equivalent to zero emissions. Companies achieve this by decreasing the number of emissions from their activities as much as possible, through efficiency gains or renewable energy. But given how many activities release carbon emissions, especially in energy-intensive industries like distilled spirits, it may be impossible for a company to genuinely not emit any carbon dioxide from their operations at all. This is where carbon offsets come into play. Companies can offset their emissions in one of two ways—one is by paying other companies to reduce their emissions, and another is by investing in “carbon sinks” which are natural solutions (such as trees or wetlands) that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Carbon neutrality is an ambitious goal, but one that can be reached with dedication and resources. At Heaven Hill, our current goal is to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2030, with a longer term vision for carbon neutrality. As advancements are made in carbon sequestration technology, and access to renewable sources of energy expands, carbon neutrality will become an attainable reality for many more businesses.