For a Better Future: 3 Important Steps taken by Beer Brands for Water Sustainability

Water is at the core of each and everything in the world. It is a necessity for the continuity of life and also the main ingredient of the one thing that we love the most: Perfect Beer! Without water, there would be no beer. That is why water sustainability is an essential topic of discussion among the beer industry. We will check out what brewers, from small to large, are doing to preserve water.

As in every sector, water has a great place in the beer industry. The brewing itself is unimaginable without water, but brewers are determined to find ways to recycle the water  and create a better future by using the water optimally.  According to Sabmiller‘s report, approximately 102,5 liters of water is consumed for every liter of beer produced. That would mean approximately 10 billion liters of water is used, only in the US. Most brewers are mindful that water scarcity poses a challenge to their activities. That is why they have all come up with different strategies to tackle the issue. Let’s have a closer look at them.

Efforts from Some of the Industry-Leading Companies

Heineken’s Every Drop 2030 Strategy

Heineken’s Every Drop strategy is built around three principles: Water efficiency (using as little water as possible), water circularity (cleaning and reusing water), and water stewardship (supporting watersheds to absorb more water). Heineken breweries decreased their water consumption by 33% in 2020, and 97% of the wastewater has been treated before disposal.

Molson Coors Aims to Increase Efficiency

Molson Coors set a target to improve water-use efficiency in their large breweries by 22% to achieve a 2.8 hl/hl water-to-beer ratio. They also commit to invest in wastewater treatment facilities and generate clean energy from this waste stream.

Anheuser-Busch Aims to Secure Water Access

Anheuser-Busch partnered with local authorities, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to reach their goal, which is to make sure 100% of their communities in high stress areas will have measurably improved water availability and quality by 2025.

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Turning Wastewater into Beer

One of the most critical environmental concerns that breweries have is wastewater. In addition to the water used in the production process, many breweries usually discharge 70% of their incoming water supply as waste. 

For small breweries, properly disposing of that wastewater is almost as costly as the production. However, some breweries are now using wastewater to brew beer. The recycled and carefully filtered water is safe to consume again. Although there might be some bias against the beer made with reused wastewater, it is an efficient way especially considering the water shortage and the drought the world might be facing in the future if no action is taken.

What Are We Doing?

Pubinno’s AI-powered Smart Taps with patented robotics mechanism ensure that you get the right amount of beer, every single time. Therefore Pubinno technology helps the brewing industry reduce waste by 20% per keg in draft beer systems which would have an instant and direct impact in creating a more sustainable brewing ecosystem. We believe that not a single drop of beer should be wasted. 

On average, 200 billion liters of beer are consumed every year in the world. The savings would amount to 40 billion liters of beer and 120 billion liters of water. 

CHEERS!

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