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Maker’s Mark becomes largest distillery to gain B Corp certification

26 January 2022 By Jessica Mason

Maker’s Mark has become the largest distillery in the world to achieve B Corp certification, showing its true values and eco-credentials.

The B Corp certification signals a major milestone in the brand’s ‘Make Your Mark. Leave No Trace’ environmental mission, and has been achieved by meeting and exceeding rigorous benchmarks across five categories of the B Impact assessment: Community, customers, environment, governance and workers.

Maker’s Mark joins more than 4,000 Certified B Corporations around the world that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. B Corps become certified through rigorous verification by B Lab and undergo verification every three years. The Certification is designed to help consumers identify companies with a mission that align with their values.

Initiatives that have been implemented at the Maker’s Mark property on Star Hill Farm span a raft of ways that the owners have gone out of their way to preserve natural resources while running the business. These include a distillery-wide zero landfill initiative, an onsite recycling programme that is the first in Marion County, Kentucky and open to community members, the establishment of a natural water sanctuary protecting the watershed at Star Hill Farm; and the implementation of a solar array that powers the extensive Maker’s Mark warehouse complex.

The Bourbon producer, which is renowned for its community and philanthropic efforts after having invested millions of dollars in the hospitality industry, local Kentucky causes and the arts since its founding more than 65 years ago, has also acted as a principal partner to The LEE Initiative, which aims to address issues of equality and diversity in the restaurant industry.

In addition to this, during the global pandemic, Maker’s Mark and The LEE Initiative worked together to feed more than 1.5 million hospitality workers in cities across the US.

Rob Samuels, 8th generation whisky maker and grandson of the founders at Maker’s Mark said: “Since 1953, my grandparents instilled a sense of responsibility here at Maker’s Mark that started with the way we make our Bourbon and extended to the way we impact the lives of our teams, our customers, our communities and our shared environment. That commitment to a higher purpose continues to live on, both here in Kentucky and beyond. I am so proud of our team’s tireless efforts that have earned us B Corp certification, and I’m even more excited to continue pioneering social and environmental initiatives that benefit the future of Bourbon and greater good for all.”

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