Championing Community Voices

Community Engagement

Suntory Global Spirits is committed to community engagement and as part of this, spent time in July and August 2023 introducing the proposed Laphroaig Distillery re-development to local people and stakeholders.

This included hosting a dedicated community information event on 23 August at the distillery where 55 local people attended to learn more. Importantly, Suntory Global Spirits welcomed their feedback on proposals, and this has been used to refine the final masterplan.

We were encouraged that from the formal feedback received from attendees at the event, 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed the distillery requires re-development. 87% of respondents also regarded the community information event as informative or very informative.

Suntory Global Spirits and the wider project team also met with a range of important community groups, including Islay Community Council, Islay Development Initiative, Islay Energy Trust and South Islay Development.

The majority of local people and stakeholders that were informed were in support of proposals, recognising the need to future-proof Laphroaig Distillery for the benefit of the local community, Suntory Global Spirits as a business and its sustainability merits.