For centuries, the water of life has been crafted using just three ingredients with time-honoured and sometimes mysterious methods to create the perfect dram. Now, more than 500 years since aqua vitae distillation was first noted in Scottish exchequer rolls, the Scotch whisky industry has unveiled ambitious new environmental targets which will impact on almost every element of production and help turn the dram in our glass green. The new Sustainability Strategy, launching today (MONDAY) to coincide with Burn’s Night celebrations, commits the sector to hitting net-zero emissions across its operations by 2040. The plan puts the sector ten years ahead of the UK Government’s net-zero target, with the aim of dramatically reducing the environmental impact of Scotland’s national drink.