A SELF-built distillery which created England's first carbon-negative gins drew on its resources to produce sanitiser to help the Covid-19 response.

Cooper King Distillery near York which believes that drinking spirits does not need to cost the earth is now in the running for The Press Socially Responsible Business of the Year award for its efforts.

Part of Circular Yorkshire, Cooper King strives to stop waste, improve efficiency, and look after people and the planet.

All bottles of its Dry or Herb Gin remove 1kg more CO₂e from the atmosphere than they emit, making them England's first carbon-negative gins.

To encourage others, the business publicly shared its findings in its Carbon Report and hosted a University of York masterclass lecture.

One square metre of Yorkshire woodland is planted for every bottle of gin sold thanks to its Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust charitable partnership - it has planted more than 15,000m2 of woodland in the last three years.

The distillery is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy to reduce its environmental impact. Distilling under vacuum on innovative rotary evaporators - with a closed-loop cooling system - means it saves 26,000 litres of water annually.

Its gin refill scheme, inviting customers to bring their empty bottles back for a refill, saving £6 off a new bottle, has seen a 40 per cent uptake in 2021 since 2020.

All barley and wheat used in the spirits is grown locally, while the raw honey, lemongrass and basil used are harvested from the on-site beehives and polytunnel.

A recycled cardboard box has eliminated the need for all plastic packing materials when shipping from the distillery with material made from waste cardboard.

Spent gin botanicals are composted on site or sent to a bakery to be used for bread. Spent barley from the whisky mash is fed to local cattle. All other waste is recycled or sent to a waste-to-energy plant.

When Covid hit in 2020, the company developed and produced sanitiser, and donated to the local community and front-line staff across the country.

Despite tough times, the company received strong community support and has thrived. Turnover increased by 50 per cent and a new full-time and three part-time employees have joined.

Cooper King is now assembling a group of Yorkshire distillers to collaboratively bulk-buy raw materials to reduce environmental impact and lower costs. It is also rolling out its refill scheme to retail partners, targeting 10 cities across the UK over the next 12 months.