Exploring sustainability in the brewing industry

The Brewers’ Company’s annual Brewing and Beer Brands Forum in 2022 focused on the topic of sustainability.

The need for the brewing industry to manage and minimise the carbon footprint of its products to the point of consumer consumption is becoming more urgent. This requires that brewers understand how the overall supply chain – from raw materials, energy and direct emissions, to logistics, refrigeration and dispense – all contribute to it.  This seminar, organised by the Brewers’ Company considered this important topic from the perspective of the supply chain – in turn considering raw materials, brewing and packaging itself and downstream operations.

The evening began with a presentation from Dr Nigel Davies, Director of Maltdoctor, who explored the idea of sustainable malt and the route to carbon net zero in this aspect of the supply chain. Next was George Young, Brewing Director at St Austell Brewery, who highlighted initiatives that breweries could take to make their operations more sustainable. Finally, Steve Livens, Policy Manager for Product Assurance & Supply Chain at the British Beer and Pub Association, looked at the implications of COP26 for the brewing industry and outlined a strategy and road map to achieve sustainability goals.

All of the presentations from the Forum are available now on our website.