Scottish Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham learning about Scotch whisky blending with Diageo whisky specialist George Harper. Credit: © Diageo.

British alcoholic beverage producer Diageo has opened a research centre in Scotland to support sustainable growth in distilling.

Built with an investment of £6.4m ($8m), Diageo teams working on various projects in the fields of science, technology and innovation will use the laboratory.

The centre will help drive ‘innovation in sustainability from grain-to-glass, including distillation, maturation, packaging and logistics’.

Diageo global supply and procurement president and chief sustainability officer David Cutter said: “For over a century we have been at the forefront of scientific and technological advances in the distilling industry and with these state-of-the-art facilities we are now investing in the next 100 years of innovation and growth.

“We have exceptionally talented people and these new laboratories provide a great environment for them to do their best work.

“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to lead the next generation of research into sustainability throughout our supply chain for the future.”

The company notes that the facility is next to Diageo’s existing International Technical Centre.

The Scottish environment, climate change & land reform secretary Roseanna Cunningham officially opened the centre.

Cunningham said: “I particularly welcome its commitment to environmental sustainability, which has included a £100m investment in renewable energy facilities.

“Our journey towards becoming a net-zero society will require us all, governments, businesses communities and individuals, to work together to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change whilst seizing the economic opportunities that this will creates.”