Alpine Distilling recognized for innovation as a green business – Park Record

Last month, Alpine Distilling received the Green Business Innovation Award by Utah Business and Rocky Mountain Power, a recognition of their efforts toward environmental sustainability.

This award joins their collection of accolades from years past, which include the 2022 Green Business of the Year by Recycle Utah and the Green Business Leadership Award in 2021 from Utah Business and Rocky Mountain Power. For CEO and Master Botanical Distiller Sara Sergent, this only confirms a personal commitment to sustainability.

“It’s a wonderful honor. Prior to opening our doors, we have had those green initiatives (and) purposes for both locations in mind. So it’s nice because we committed to eco-friendly practices from the beginning,” Sergent said. 

The Innovation Award comes as a result of cutting-edge practices at Alpine Distilling’s distillery, especially through their use of water.

“Our water management — to include storage, processing, and then even scaling our production to accommodate available natural resources — is kind of leading the industry in the spirits world,” Sergeant said. 

They also installed a separate grease trap to collect all spent grains from the distilling process, which are then recycled through partnership with Wasatch Resource Recovery into renewable energy and bio-based fertilizers.

“This past year, we combined our glass and cardboard case production, which cut our waste in half from 2023 to 2024,” she said. “In our water management, our production efforts and then our packaging really is what labeled us as innovative.”

For Sergent and her husband Rob, who oversees the company’s whiskey production, running a green business was always a no-brainer. 

“Since being a child and spearheading efforts in my elementary school on recycling and reducing waste and saving the whales, it’s just about taking care of our backyard,” she said. “Whether living in Evergreen Colorado or L.A. or now Park City for 15 years, it’s really just making those efforts to take care of our backyard.”

While Alpine Distilling has had the advantage of maintaining green practices since its creation in 2016, there are plenty of small changes businesses can make to be a bit more eco-friendly. Actions like diverting food waste from landfills through composting or food waste collection bins, LED lights, recycled paper, emailed receipts and even encouraging the use of public transit are just some of the changes Sergent recommends.

“Even just a slight 2% change in business has a huge ripple effect,” she said. “If a business hasn’t had in mind since the beginning to invest the monies and energy to build out a green business and operate that way, there’s always something that can be done.”

Some of the other sustainability efforts by Alpine Distilling include:

• Food Waste diversion through Momentum Recycling in partnership with Summit County and Park City Community Foundation
• Glass recycling at both locations
• Production facility running entirely on steam
• Exclusive use of LED lighting
• Ethical sourcing of botanicals and ingredients from family-owned farms prioritizing organic farming methods
• Use of eco-friendly printed cardboard packaging
• Biodegradable straws and napkins, no plastic cutlery or to-go containers at Alpine Lounge

“For our younger generation, it’s nice to showcase how easy it is to be a little bit greener, to think a little bit more about, how are we using things, or how are we wasting things?” Sergent said.

For more information about Alpine Distilling, the Park City Social Aid & Social Club, or to purchase their spirits online, visit alpinedistilling.com.