Diageo employees across Scotland will this week begin distribution of more than 55,000 bottles of free hand sanitiser to communities where the company has distilleries and operations.

Working in partnership with local authorities and community organisations Diageo’s people across its network of sites across the country will distribute the hand sanitiser to where it is most needed in local communities, targeting care homes, care in the community staff and people volunteering to help the vulnerable.

The areas to benefit from the distribution include the rural areas where Diageo has distilleries in the highlands and islands, including the iconic whisky distilling communities of Islay and Speyside. Across central Scotland where the company’s packaging and production plants are based communities in Clackmannanshire, Fife and Renfrewshire will benefit from the donation.

The 500ml bottles of hand sanitiser are being made to World Health Organisation formulation, with the liquid developed by a team at the company’s technical laboratories in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, and production and packaging undertaken by staff at the Leven packaging plant in Fife.

The direct local production of the batch of hand sanitiser for communities in Scotland is in addition to an earlier global initiative by Diageo which has seen 500,000 litres of alcohol donated to be manufactured into hand sanitiser for the NHS across the UK and Ireland, with the global total now exceeding five million litres of spirit donated.

Ewan Andrew, President, Global Supply and Procurement, said: “This initiative has very much been driven by our people at our sites the length and breadth of Scotland who want to contribute locally in their communities, especially those who are in the frontline of this crisis.

“I am extremely proud of every employee and our suppliers who have contributed to this project, from the scientific and regulatory teams who developed the process through all the colleagues working to make and distribute it to the community.”

A number of Diageo’s regular suppliers contributed voluntarily to the project by donating ingredients and services to the production process. These include: WH Malcolm (logistics and distribution support); Chep (pallet provider); CCI Labels (supplied labels); Brenntag Ltd (supplier of hydrogen peroxide); Tan International Ltd (supplier of hydrogen peroxide for trials); M&H Plastics (supplied bottles and closures).

Ewan Andrew added: “It has been inspiring to hear about our suppliers joining us in this effort and volunteering their goods and services to help local communities. We are hugely grateful to them for all their efforts.”