Irish Distillers partners with Bank of Ireland on sustainable farming initiative

Irish Distillers, part of drinks giant Pernod Ricard, has announced a partnership with Bank of Ireland that will see sustainability-linked loans offered to tillage farmers.

The Enviroflex loans are designed to incentivise farmers to continue implementing sustainability focused improvements on their land, with Bank of Ireland already having implemented a number of such loans during 2024, in the dairy sector.

The financing is being made available through Irish Distillers’ Sustainable Green Spring Barley Scheme, which was originally launched in 2020, and seeks to enhance biodiversity, improve the sustainability of spring barley farming, and help farmers reduce their carbon footprint.

The scheme requires farms to commit to eight essential measures in order to access the funding, while additional financial incentives are available for those who adopt further biodiversity initiatives.

‘Respond to climate change’

“We are committed to working in partnership with our suppliers to respond to the challenges of climate change and support sustainable agriculture through initiatives such as our Sustainable Green Spring Barley Scheme,” commented Graham Caulwell, head of sustainability and compliance, Irish Distillers.

“We are proud to partner with Bank of Ireland to provide further funding options to tillage farmers to support our shared goal of improving our collective environmental footprint through new practices and innovative technologies, and supporting the economic viability of barley growing in Ireland.”

Agriculture industry

Elsewhere, Eoin Lowry, head of the agri sector at Bank of Ireland, said that the move supports the bank’s goal to make sustainability-linked loans more widely available across the agriculture industry.

“A vast number of dairy farmers looking to enhance their farms sustainability have already availed of Enviroflex loans, and we now look forward to working with Irish Distillers to reward tillage farmers who implement more sustainable farming practises with discounted finance options,” he added. Find out more about the initiative here.