The Aspen Way
The idea driving Aspen Distillers™ is the same one that powers the entire community. It’s called The Aspen Way, and for eight decades our friends at The Aspen Institute have spread it around the globe, calling on people everywhere to use reason, empathy, and innovation to solve the challenges facing our world. Following the Aspen Way has led us to design and build a new kind of distillery — one that produces exceptional spirits in harmony with the land we love.
The project was an opportunity to shift the paradigm in how we think about spirits and manufacturing. The distillery is built to engender community relationships and also set a broader, global benchmark in Pitkin County and beyond.
Aspen Distillers™ is proud to be the first distillery to register for the Living Building Challenge sustainability certification with the goal to meet all seven performance areas, or “petals,” from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The Living Building Challenge is the built environment’s most ambitious performance standard. For context, this achievement is now shared by only 30 buildings in the world.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Environmental protection and regeneration for the luxury spirits industry. We measure ourselves against 150 factors across 75 categories. The sustainability measures are tailored to the specific impacts of the luxury spirits industry from climate, waste and carbon management to agriculture, animal welfare, biodiversity and circular economy.
SOCIAL
Commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, community investment, and social impact throughout the supply chain.
GOVERNANCE
Our governance practices manage the complex and fast-moving global legislative landscape currently facing premium spirits. We ensure a strong performance by tracking 80 different factors and then measure our performance against targets in the industry.