GEOFF BENNETT: The U.K. became the first country# with a major economy to set a deadline to become## a carbon-neutral economy, with zero emissions# greenhouse gases.

Britain's target is 2050.

Scotland's is even earlier by 2045.

As Fred de Sam Lazaro reports, one industry# is already trying to clean up it's act,## one responsible for Scotland's best-known export.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Scotch whiskey is a $7# billion-a-year export, reaching the farthest## corners of the world, with scores of well-known# brands, from White Label to Black Label.

NARRATOR: Distilled and blended in Scotland.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The marketing,# especially on more expensive labels,## evokes the pristine Scottish countryside and its## distinct whiskey regions.

Less well-known# is that whiskey-making is a dirty business,## producing as much carbon dioxide as it does# alcohol, and using a lot of fossil fuels.

ANNA PILKINGTON, Glentauchers Distillery: It is an# energy-intensive process.

This is our stillhouse.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Anna Pilkington is an# engineer at the Glentauchers distillery## in the Speyside region owned by the# French multinational Pernod Ricard,## with brands like Chivas Regal and Glenlivet.

Some 3,400 gallons of alcohol, equal to about# 13,000 one-liter bottles, are distilled each## day after the barley is mashed, washed, and# then distilled in enormous copper stills## before being poured into# wooden barrels to be aged.

ANNA PILKINGTON: We have many different shapes# of stills and they will all produce a different## character, because it all depends on how much# time they have in contact with the copper.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: So, there's nothing# better or worse?

It's just a matter of## individual preferences that# you're trying to cater to?

ANNA PILKINGTON: Exactly, exactly.# So we're in Speyside today.

And## Speyside are known for lighter,# prettier flavor profiles.

However,## if you were to go to Islay, they are# known for their much heartier, fuller,## richer spirits.

And that's all to do with their# malts, their water and the shape of their stills.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The concern of this distillery# goes beyond the whiskey palate to climate change## and its potential impact on business, a# concern shared by Scotland's government,## which subsidized the installation# of an elaborate system of pipes,## condensers and compressors to capture and reuse# much of the heat produced in the distillation.

ANNA PILKINGTON: We have seen a 48 percent# reduction in overall energy consumption.## But in terms of heat energy and, therefore,# carbon, we have reduced it by 53 percent.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Has the# equipment paid for itself yet?

ANNA PILKINGTON: Yes.

Yes.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: There are other plans# capturing and bear.. for example, to help reach net zero.

It might seem like a no-brainer, but for many# distilleries, such retrofits are not easy.

Many## are smaller in old buildings on the historic# register and lack the physical space.

And,## critically, they're loath to mess with# a time-honored way of doing things.

RONALD DAALMANS, Chivas Brothers: People very# nervous about changing the way the process works.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Ronald Daalmans is an# executive with the distillery's parent company.

Because it's been done this way# for sometimes hundreds of years.

RONALD DAALMANS: Exactly, yes, and especially# if you're a smaller distiller.

Imagine if you## only have two stills, one wash, one spirit.# How do you do a trial in that scenario?

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Big and small, he says,# distillers are working with their competitors## to reduce the carbon footprint of# a very image-sensitive industry.

RONALD DAALMANS: We're also needing to appeal# to the consumers of tomorrow.

And, increasingly,## they are making decisions based on not just do I# like the brand, but do I like what it stands for?

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Making# things that much trickier## is that that tomorrow is usually a long way off.

It takes just three ingredients to make# whiskey, barley or cereal grain, water,## and yeast.

The distillation takes a few days,## and then the long wait begins before# payday.

In the case of this distillery,## the stuff will remain in casks for 18 years# before it's bottled and sent to the store shelf.

This distillery in the Scottish highlands# is a start-up called Arbikie.

Its start date## was either 2013 or arguably about a couple of# centuries earlier, says tour guide Mark Mash.

MARK MASH, Arbikie Distillery: The# distillery was in the field behind## there in 1794.

And so we pick up on# that in our branding and our marketing.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: That, the setting,# and the storied history.

The farm that## surrounds the distillery's new# incarnation is owned by a family## with deep roots here.

It will soon bring# online a wind turbine.

And unlike the## multinationals with far-flung supply# chains, everything is locally sourced.

MARK MASH: All of our white spirits.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Today, it sells# and serves tourists vodka, gin,## and a rye whiskey, things that need less aging,## all to keep the lights on until the big# release in 2033 of its single malt whiskey.

MARK MASH: We will always be able to tell you,## when this malt whiskey is bottled# and sold that the crop that## was distilled was prisma barley and that it# was grown in the Fauns Castle Field up here.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: And that's# important for what reason?

MARK MASH: I think it's an interest# in the quality of what we eat and## drink and therefore the provenance# of what we do and what we make.

It's## very individual.

People sometimes say to# me, Mark, what's your favorite whiskey?

My reply is always, ask me what mood I'm in.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: He and the owners# are counting on the right consumer mood## 18 years after pouring their malt and# a whole lot of faith into these casks.

For the "PBS NewsHour," in a very good mood, this# is Fred de Sam Lazaro in the Scottish highlands.

GEOFF BENNETT: Fred's reporting is a partnership## with the Under-Told Stories Project at# the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.