Bulleit Frontier Whiskey met its goal of planting one million trees in partnership with forestry innovation leader American Forests, three years ahead of schedule. Together, Bulleit and American Forests have successfully restored more than 2,000 acres of forest landscapes in several states preserving the forests’ ability to mitigate climate change, clean water and provide home for wildlife.

As reforestation efforts continue to push forward, Bulleit is embarking on a new mission to improve Tree Equity within economically disadvantaged communities and help ensure that all people have access to the benefits of trees, according to an announcement this week.

Tree Equity is about making sure everyone can experience the benefits of trees, no matter their income or where they live. Trees help fulfill our basic needs – breathing fresh air, drinking clean water and finding relief from the heat. Much like streets and sewer lines, trees are critical infrastructure for improving overall quality of life and play an integral role in mitigating climate change. Bulleit announced it is committed to its shared mission with American Forests to advance Tree Equity and ensure tree cover in cities is equitably distributed.  

A map of the tree cover in the U.S. is all too often a reflection of income disparities in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods where trees are often more sparse, while tree cover is much more prominent in wealthier, suburban communities. To invoke actionable change, Bulleit will plant and maintain trees in five cities utilizing American Forests’ Tree Equity Score technology that helps measure the tree canopy needs in urban areas to determine which neighborhoods need trees the most.

For Bulleit, recognizing the value of trees, healthy forests and sustainability are issues that hit close to home. To produce Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, barrels are integral to aging the award-winning liquid. And to make barrels, white oak trees are a necessity. Through their reforestation efforts, Bulleit continues to advance the long-term health and resilience of white oak forests for years to come.

“Our commitment to a greener future does not stop with how we make our whiskey or our recent reforestation efforts. There is much more we can do especially with our invaluable friends at American Forests,” Ricky Collett, global brand director, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, said in a news release. “While trees are a necessity for our award-winning bourbon, the benefits trees provide our communities are undeniable. Bulleit was built on the foundation of community and advancing Tree Equity is a way for us to give back to those who have given us so much.”

To raise awareness of its Tree Equity mission, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey will work with  Street Art for Mankind, a nonprofit organization that sparks social change through the power of art, to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with a multi-city mural project to raise awareness of its collective vision – a world where all people have access to the benefits trees provide, no exceptions.

In collaboration with prominent artists, Bulleit will bring to life the importance of Tree Equity through large scale, visually impactful murals, in five American cities in the next three years. The first sponsored mural will be unveiled this fall, alongside a tree planting celebration to further amplify the #GenerationRestoration movement to provoke action around ecosystem restoration and climate change reversal by 2030.

Since its inception in 2020, Bulleit says its partnership with American Forests has resulted in the planting or protecting of one million trees with projected environmental benefits that include:

• Carbon Sequestration: 645,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide stored over the next 100 years*, equal to the removal of emissions from driving 140,000 cars in one year.**
• Air Purification: An average of 74,000 pounds of air pollutants eliminated per year.*** For fine particles like dust, this is equal to removing 1,000 cars from the road.**
• Water Conservation: An average of 75 million gallons of runoff conserved per year, *** equal to the volume of water stored by 114 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Vital Wildlife Habitat: Roughly 2,000 acres of critical forest restored across multiple states in the Eastern U.S.****

Sustainability continues to be an important mission for both Bulleit and its parent company, Diageo, which announced 25 purposeful and ambitious goals in its ‘Society 30: Spirit of Progress’ sustainability action plan. The ten-year plan includes a commitment to  achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the company’s direct operations, which is supported by the recent opening of its first carbon neutral distillery in Lebanon, KY where Bulleit Bourbon is being produced.

*Estimates on carbon storage derived from USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data for Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee **EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
***Estimates derived from an average tree planting throughout the brand’s planting region using iTree County
****Estimate by American Forests based on previous plantings and average trees planted per acre