International Beer Day – what’s the environmental impact of beer?

Beer is one of the UK’s favourite drinks and is a staple in pubs and bars across the land. A recent survey found that in their lifetime, UK pub-goers were likely to drink around 7,786 pints of lager, that’s 4,424 litres of beer (1). 

And lager is very much the leading light of the beer segment. In fact, the lager category makes up “nearly seven in 10 pints” in the on-trade according to CGA by NIQ (2023). 

Like many food and drink categories, beer has faced challenges due to the ongoing economic pressures and recent ingredient price hikes. But, with 59% of consumers viewing beer as an affordable treat (2), it’s clear it has the popularity to remain the drink of choice for many. 

According to recent research by Nutritics as part of our ‘Sustainability Matters’ report, a third (34%) of consumers say they are willing to spend more than usual on brands with strong sustainability credentials, whilst more than two in five (44%) say sustainability is important in their choice of venue to visit. 

So, just how sustainable is your favourite pint? And how can operators ensure they are stocking brands that are supporting the environment? Pull up a seat at the bar and let Laura Kirwan PhD, Sustainability Lead here at Nutritics, tell you more….

What impacts the sustainability of beer?

Let’s explore some of the factors that impact beers’ environmental footprint and what some companies are doing to reduce this…

Ingredients 

Beer is typically made from water, malted barley, hops, and yeast, which will all have an eco-impact to consider. So, operators need to be looking at how different breweries and brands source their ingredients when looking for a sustainable product. 

When sourcing barley, The HEINEKEN Company uses the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) to give its farmers a single, simplified sustainability framework to work with to assess and improve their farm performance. Carling has its own ‘Growers Group’ producing Red Tractor approved barley. 

Guinness is working with Irish barley farmers to support them on the transition towards regenerative agriculture, helping them to improve soil health and enhance biodiversity, as well as supporting the long term profitability for farmers’ livelihoods. 

Organic and locally sourced ingredients is another way to minimise the footprint of your favourite pint. Sussex-based Hepworth Brewery only sources its ingredients from the local area to ensure lower food miles for its products at the production stage. It sources organic barley from the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex and award winning hops from Bodiam in East Sussex.

Previously, Carlsberg Group has joined forces with conservation charity WWF to help restore seagrass meadows around the UK coastline.

Water usage

Brewing beer requires significant amounts of water. Breweries that implement water conservation measures, such as recycling and reusing water, can reduce their impact on local water resources.

Small Beer Brew Co. in London was the world’s first brewery to operate a dry floor policy, drastically reducing the amount of water needed in the brewing process – and has saved them more than 6.5 million litres to date. 

In 2022, Carlsberg’s water recycling plant at Fredericia Brewery in Denmark won Industrial Project at the Year Global Water Awards for its strides made in water saving. By recycling 90% of all process water from production, the recycling plant has proven that it is possible to reduce the brewery’s water consumption for beer and soft drinks production to just 1.4 litres per produced litre – the global average water consumption for the Carlsberg Group was 2.7 litres per produced litre in 2021.

Energy consumption

Brewing beer involves heating, cooling, and fermentation processes that require considerable amounts of energy. 

Hepworth brewery recently built a new brewery, with the environment in mind. Solar panels provide electricity (with excess dispersed to the National Grid) and reed beds recondition wastewater and feed it back into the river Arun (with the approval of the Environment Agency). Waste with higher protein levels is purified by anaerobic digester, producing new energy, whilst water with a high yeast level is taken off site for use as a soil conditioner. 

Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I has installed two solar farms and a wind turbine since 2018, meaning that it is now able to generate enough renewable electricity in the UK to not only power the brewing operations of Budweiser but also its other brands such as Stella Artois, Corona, Bud Light and Becks. Globally, Heineken has implemented more than 130 renewable energy projects since 2018, and has recently announced £25m of funding into its Manchester Brewery to reduce its carbon emissions. 

Packaging

Packaging is the largest contributor to beer’s carbon footprint, with a huge 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the life cycle of beer coming from packaging (3). Choosing draught beer is the most sustainable choice you can make as a customer in a pub, followed by aluminium cans and then glass bottles, which take the most energy to produce. 

Many breweries are now exploring eco-friendly packaging options, which are often made from recycled materials and fully recyclable. Additionally, alternative packaging methods, such as refillable bottles or kegs, can also minimise the overall impact of beer. 

Waste

We’ve spoken about minimising water waste, but there are also many brewers getting creative with the use of waste materials as ingredients. 

Toast Ale was the first UK brewery to become B Corp UK certified and recognises the impact of the current food system on the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, especially when one-third of all food is wasted. Toast Ale brews its beers with surplus bakery bread that would otherwise be wasted, using 25% less malted barley than other beers. Its spent grain is also fed to animals and spent hops are composted to return nutrients to the soil. 

Manchester based SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO has teamed up with the local Kellogg’s manufacturing site to create sustainable beers using upcycled cereal. Grains and flakes that don’t make the grade to be packaged by Kellogg’s for your breakfast table are passed to the brewing team. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are used to replace some of the wheat grain in the beer mix during the mashing process of making Throwaway IPA. Rice Krispies replace the malted barley in the Cast Off Pale Ale and Coco Pops replace the malted barley in Sling it Out Stout.

Last orders…

The sustainability of beer is the result of multiple factors, and there are lots of companies, big and small, working hard to reduce their environmental footprint. What we haven’t mentioned yet, is that the end transportation of beer will also have a sizable impact on carbon emissions, so sourcing local produce where possible can be a great way for pub and bar operators to further minimise their overall emissions. Transport is factored into the environmental impact of the beer made by the DEYA BREWING COMPANY LIMITED, who calculate and publish the carbon footprint per can based on the impacts of the raw materials, processing, packaging and transport. 

And it’s great to see that the wider beer community is also pulling together to improve the overall sustainability of the sector. For example, for this year’s INDY MAN BEER CON in Manchester, the organisers worked with a handful of international breweries to have their beers transported to the festival in a way that uses the most carbon efficient modes of freight. 

But of course, sustainability isn’t solely focussed on the environment, it can also encompass the people and culture of a business. Signature Brew in London is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion amongst its team members and subcontractors. It is a London Living Wage employer, and helped to create jobs for musicians when venues were forced to close in lockdown. 

For operators, by taking a closer look at the breweries behind the beer you stock, you can take further steps to reduce the footprint of your business. Cheers to that! 

If you’re looking for advice on sustainability in your business, get in touch with the Knowledge Labs team today. Knowledge Labs provides Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) operators with expert advice and support across a range of topics central to their ESG strategy, including food related sustainability, nutrition, employee wellbeing, and compliance. 

[1] Licensed Trade Charity, 2022

[2] Mintel UK Beer Market Report, 2022

[3] Thielmann, 2022