Lesson 2 - Environmental Sustainability
In this lesson we will discuss key ways to understand and improve the sustainability of brewery operations. This will include understanding the global context for sustainability, the key environmental sustainability impacts of producing beer and opportunities for improving the sustainability of beer and brewing operations.
Why does Climate Action Matter to Brewers?
There are two ways that we can think about the significance of climate change to our operations and products:
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Mitigation – our impact and how it is contributing to carbon emissions and what we can do about it.
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Adaptation – how a changing climate may affect our business and the action we may need to take to adapt.
In many countries, climate change and related legislation are already in place. This will continue to improve as governments develop policies to meet their Paris climate commitments to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Our impact
We can understand the carbon impact of our products through carbon footprinting the whole life cycle of a beer. This technique sets out every stage of a product’s life and calculates the carbon impact of each stage. For beer, this includes growing agricultural ingredients, malting, brewing operations, packaging materials and operations, transport, and final use (such as cooling before consumption). This helps us understand both the total footprint and where efforts to reduce impact may be most effective.
Before we consider some examples of a beer carbon footprint, take a moment to think about where the most significant carbon impact might come from. Where do you think the variation in carbon emissions from different beer products will come from?
Give yourself 5-10 minutes to think about this, and then click ’Next’ to continue with this lesson.