Rockland Distilleries’ Greenwashing Strategy – Manipulating Sustainability for Profit

In recent years, sustainability has become a convenient tool for corporations to cultivate positive public images, and the alcohol industry is no exception. Rockland Distilleries, a major alcohol producer in Sri Lanka, uses claims of environmental consciousness to shape its brand identity, positioning itself as a “green” company through selective communication about its “Eco Distillery” and various so-called sustainable practices. These tactics divert attention from the harms associated with Rockland’s core business—alcohol production and consumption.

On April 3, 2024, Devinda De Silva, Operations Director at Rockland Group, published an article in the Daily Mirror titled “Rockland’s Journey to Being Only Distillery to Obtain Green Certificate.” The article paints an idealized picture of Rockland’s activities, describing waste minimization, water conservation practices, and re-use of production byproducts as evidence of its environmental responsibility. The company also attempts to romanticize its historical roots, furthering the narrative of environmental stewardship. However, these claims distract from the considerable environmental and social toll of producing and selling arrack—a highly resource-intensive process with serious public health consequences.

Rockland takes its greenwashing efforts further by linking sales of its Ceylon Arrack brand to wildlife conservation, pledging that “every single bottle of Ceylon Arrack sold” supports Sri Lankan wildlife, particularly elephant conservation. This carefully curated image ignores the negative impact of arrack production and consumption, which contribute to health issues, economic strain, and social harm across communities in Sri Lanka. While presenting itself as a responsible corporate actor, Rockland sidesteps the reality of alcohol’s impact on public health and social welfare. Exposing these tactics is essential to unveiling the true priorities of the alcohol industry, ensuring that corporations cannot hide behind “green” narratives to divert attention from the harm they cause.

Manipulation is Big Alcohol’s activity to control its image. The alcohol industry engages in manipulation activities to protect and cultivate their image and the values of their brands. Deploying manipulation strategies serves for Big Alcohol to appear as “good corporate citizens”. The focus of the DUBIOUS FIVE strategy of manipulation is the alcohol company, their brands and value. Examples are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), green-washing, pink-washing, rainbow-washing, or white-washing activities.

Source:
• Daily Mirror, Rockland’s Journey to Being Only Distillery to Obtain Green Certificate, available at: https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/business/Rocklands-journey-to-being-only-distillery-to-obtain-Green-certificate/215-280055 (accessed 8 November 2024).

This case was brought to Big Alcohol Exposed by a member of the public, underscoring the importance of community awareness in identifying industry misconduct. If you witness irresponsible or misleading marketing practices by the alcohol industry, you too can report them to Big Alcohol Exposed to help call attention to unethical tactics and protect public health.

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