This brand is launching the world's first 'regenerative' vodka

Ahead of next month's COP26 climate action summit, plenty of brands are looking at different ways to become more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions. Now, in the alcohol sector, one brand from Finland claims to have found a way to make a more sustainable vodka.

Altia-owned Koskenkorva Vodka and the Baltic Sea Action Group, together with Finnish agency Bob the Robot, conceived the world’s first vodka made entirely from regeneratively farmed barley, meaning it helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Regenerative farming draws CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it into the ground, and it improves biodiversity, prevents eutrophication, uses less water and gives better yields. 

The vodka is launching in the U.K. and across Europe, including Spain, Italy and Germany, accompanied by social films that explain the process behind its creation. 

“Like is the case with so many other success stories in advertising, there wasn’t a straight answer to the original brief which was to communicate the facts behind Koskenkorva Vodka’s sustainability efforts," explained Paul Merisalu, senior creative at Bob The Robot,in a statement. "We wanted to show the impact of regenerative farming, scaling the knowledge to other farmers and making a real-world impact. Koskenkorva, Altia and the Baltic Sea Action Group have been making strides forward in the carbon farming space and we’re proud to be a part of this latest achievement.”

The launch comes as larger alcohol brands have been working on different methods of reducing their environmental impact. They include Corona, which introduced six-pack packaging made from barley straw earlier this year, Budweiser, which debuted its first global campaign focused on sustainability around Earth Day, and Scottish brewer Brewdog, which has promised to eliminate from the environment double the amount of carbon that it emits—its planting its own forest to help do so.