From grain to glass to insight: How Nolet Family Distillery is building credible sustainability with data across its global spirits business
Nolet is a family‑owned distillery with deep roots in Schiedam and a global footprint. The company produces jenever for the Dutch market, vodka for nearly one hundred international markets and gin primarily for the United States and the Netherlands.
We spoke with Eric van der Oest, Director Development & Communication, who is responsible for sustainability at Nolet, about how the company uses Salacia to build reliable ESG insights, support reporting and enable better decisions throughout the organisation.
Turning long‑standing ambition into structure
When Eric took on responsibility for sustainability, many initiatives were already in place. Nolet had invested in renewable energy for years, built its own windmill in Schiedam and continuously improved efficiency across operations.
What was missing was structure. Sustainability projects existed, but they were not yet embedded in a single framework or supported by consistent, verifiable data that could be used for reporting and decision making.
As regulatory developments around CSRD accelerated in Europe, Nolet recognised the need to professionalise its approach. Even when the formal obligation later fell away, the decision to continue did not change. The company chose to report voluntarily under the VSME standard, supported by Salacia.
The motivation was clear. Nolet wanted to be prepared for future regulation, respond to increasing questions from customers and partners and align with the sustainability ambitions of Diageo, its joint venture partner.
A pragmatic approach with a turn-key solution
Salacia provided Nolet with a pragmatic platform and experienced support, without the need to develop internal systems or processes from scratch.
“It is a turnkey solution. We did not have to build everything ourselves, and that made a huge difference.”
Substantiating claims with audit-proof data
Nolet’s sustainability ambitions go beyond compliance. The company is cautious about claims and wants every statement to be supported by facts that can withstand scrutiny.
“If we make a claim, we want to be able to substantiate it properly. Structuring data plays a key role in achieving this.”
This mindset also led Nolet to submit its targets to the Science Based Targets initiative. The SBTi process required a high level of detail, consistency and transparency across emissions data.
“We deliberately chose SBTi because it forces you to properly underpin your ambitions. It is a demanding process, but it helps ensure credibility.”
The data used for the SBTi submission will be managed in Salacia, allowing Nolet to work from one reliable source of truth across reporting, validation and target setting. This focus on robustness played a key role in the management decision to work with Salacia.
From reporting exercise to real insight
Preparing the first complete sustainability reports is a learning journey. Each reporting cycle brings new insights into performance and into how data should be collected and interpreted.
“The nice thing is that every year you learn something new. Your understanding improves, and your reporting becomes more mature.”
The data confirmed what Nolet already suspected. The majority of emissions sit in the value chain, not on site. Glass, cardboard and alcohol production account for the largest share.
This realisation was both sobering and clarifying.
“It is confronting, but also very helpful. It shows very clearly where the real levers for impact are.
Using insight to engage the value chain
With reliable data in place, Nolet can have more meaningful conversations with suppliers. Rather than relying on generic benchmarks, the company actively requests primary data wherever possible.
“We keep asking for the real numbers, not just benchmark figures. That has helped us significantly improve data quality.”
These conversations take time, but they form the basis for long‑term improvement across the value chain.
One platform, multiple reporting purposes
Nolet uses Salacia as a single source of truth for both VSME reporting and its Science Based Targets initiative submission.
“We use Salacia for SBTi and VSME because the data is solid, verifiable and audit‑proof.”
Bringing ESG reporting, VSME requirements and SBTi data together in one central platform has simplified the process considerably. It allows Nolet to respond quickly to information requests from customers, partners and auditors, without losing consistency or control.
At the same time, the data supports internal projects such as improving energy efficiency, reducing packaging weight and exploring more sustainable materials.
Looking ahead with a solid data foundation
According to Eric, sustainability data will only become more important. Regulation may return, but in the meantime requests from the market are already increasing.
As Eric concludes:
“Salacia helps us turn sustainability into something concrete. It gives us reliable, audit‑proof insight and supports credible reporting. With the numbers on the table it helps create a more meaningful conversation at all levels of the organisation.”
With Salacia, Nolet weaves reliable, audit‑proof sustainability data into everyday decisions, supporting transparency, trusted partnerships and responsible growth across generations of its family‑owned spirits business.
