Sustainability is not just the latest buzzword. There is an urgency to fostering a circular economy and creating sustainable beverage plants and products.

Yet, strides are being made. With the help of a 2,050-acre BrewDog Forest and a $39 million investment plan, an Ohio-based craft brewer is creating the world’s first carbon negative international beer business, it says.

The way that premium spirits such as whiskeys, rums and tequilas are aged also is undergoing a new twist. Co-founded by Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek, Bespoken Spirits has developed a proprietary new process for sustainably maturing spirits in a matter of days, not years.

Designed to bring speed, control and precision to the maturation process, the technology keeps products out of rickhouses and costs 20 to 70 percent less that traditional aging, it says.

“Our technology tailors the taste, color and aroma to the specifications of the distiller, creating millions of custom spirits from the same source spirit,” Janousek said in a statement. “This creates new markets for aged spirits and ready-to-drinks and could be a game-changer.”

Keep reading Beverage Industry for the latest sustainability initiatives.