Learner Stories – Teeling Whiskey

Darran Lovely, Senior Commercial Manager, Teeling Whiskey.

Discover how Teeling Whiskey, an Irish distillery with an international customer base, who have won sustainability awards in the past, benefitted from our Sustainability Leaders Programme. The programme enabled them to incorporate a sustainability Action Plan which provided a road map to achieve further success within the ESG environment. We spoke to Darran Lovely, Senior Commercial Manager, at Teeling Whiskey to find out more.

In your own words, how would you describe your role?

My role of Senior Commercial Manager is primarily focused on the sales and marketing of the Teeling Whiskey range of award-winning whiskies across 80 export markets. We work with independent Route to Market (RTM) partners to help us achieve our aims of being the world’s leading Super Premium Irish Whiskey.

What motivated you to undertake a programme at the Skillnet Climate Ready Academy?

The Teeling Whiskey Company has a strong track record of being a sustainable focused company and the distillery won Sustainable Distillery of the Year in 2023 and was certified as Gold Status under the Origin Green sustainability programme in 2025. The company is ambitious and seeks to continue make improvements across the business, including the area of ESG and sustainability is a key component. Therefore, I was motivated to complete the training to increase my sustainability knowledge and to apply learnings to the company in due course.

How has this programme helped you in your career or daily work?

I constantly strive to upskill my knowledge of sustainability and this programme provided excellent academic frameworks, as well as peer-to-peer learning. I garnered new learnings in the area of water stewardship, sustainable packaging and energy efficiency.

How has your organisation benefitted from the knowledge and skills you gained?

The Teeling Whiskey Company benefited from a sustainability Action plan that provides a road map to achieving further successes within the ESG environment. The Action plan stimulated critical thinking and provided the platform to rank priorities and put shape and structure on future projects.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?

The quality of the instructors was excellent, and there was a good flow and rhythm to the modules. Engagement with other attendees was encouraged and there was plenty of Peer-to-peer learning.

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