Mexican breweries face crisis in drought-stricken north

Mexico | President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants beer production in northern Mexico to stop due to drought. The city of Monterrey, a big industrial hub, and located some 240 km south of the Texan border, is rationing water. But Mexico is also the world’s largest exporter of beer, shipping over USD 5 billion of beer in 2021.

---

Heineken to close historic Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh

United Kingdom | It makes you wonder why Heineken has decided to close its only brewery in Scotland, when all the world is talking about the environmental impact of “food miles” and manufacturers’ carbon footprint. Is not the concept of consolidating beer production in one or two breweries per market outdated, as it means that beer is shunted up and down the country to reach consumers?

---

Conference report: Brewers Forum in Madrid

Spain | Take it as a sign of the times that ESG targets will dominate brewers’ lives for years to come: The Brewers Forum, the annual shindig organised by the Brewers of Europe, which took place in Madrid (30 and 31 May 2022), devoted one of its four lecture tracks to the “E” (Environment) in ESG.

---

Constellation Brands to invest USD 1.3 billion in Mexico’s Veracruz

Mexico | Take it as a sign of the times that environmental concerns now trump business plans. US brewer Constellation Brands is getting ready to build a brewery in Veracruz. The company reported at the end of April 2022 that it will invest USD 1.3 billion in the southeastern Mexican state over the next four years. The investment is part of the USD 5.5 billion it will spend on its Mexican plants over the same period.

---

Holland Malt realises emission-free malthouse in Eemshaven

Emission-free | In December 2021, Holland Malt has started the realisation of a completely emission-free malthouse in Eemshaven, province of Groningen. Thanks to a new, innovative heat system, the malting process no longer uses fossil fuels, biomass or other energy sources that cause harmful emissions. With this, the malthouse is taking a big step in its energy transition. The system that is to ensure this transition will be fully operational in 2024.

---

BarthHaas Group published their premier Global Sustainability Report

Insight into Sustainable actions | The BarthHaas Group, comprised of BarthHaas Germany, BarthHaas UK, Hop Products Australia (HPA), and John I. Haas, Inc., has published their first Global Sustainability Report: in it, the world’s leading hop product and service provider documents the environmental, social, and economic challenges affecting hop cultivation and processing in the reporting period August 2017 to July 2021.

---

New Belgium Brewing gives away Carbon Neutral toolkit free of charge

USA | New Belgium Brewery has released a free Carbon Neutral Toolkit to support other breweries on their journeys toward net-zero carbon emissions. The toolkit is designed to help small- and medium-sized breweries measure their carbon footprint and take steps to make their businesses carbon neutral.

---

Brewers sign new EU Code of Conduct on sustainable food systems

Europe | The Brewers of Europe, an industry body, has added its name to a new EU-wide pledge to support the shift towards sustainable food systems. By signing up, Europe’s brewers pledged to pursue and build upon their six-year long commitment to label ingredients and energy on beers across Europe.

---

New Belgium releases a bad beer – on purpose

USA | On Earth Day (22 April), New Belgium shocked its punters by releasing Torched Earth Ale, a beer made entirely with ingredients available in a climate-ravaged future.

---

BrewDog to open Las Vegas’ first carbon negative bar

USA | BrewDog signed the lease for Las Vegas’ first and only carbon negative bar, which is believed to be opening later this year.

---

Heineken plans to cut overall emissions by 30 percent by 2030

The Netherlands | With a nod to Earth Day activists, on 22 April 2021, Dutch brewer Heineken announced that it aims for all of its production sites to become carbon neutral, maximising renewable energy and energy efficiency. As part of its EverGreen campaign, the company will cut its overall emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

---

IBD/BFBi: Environmental webinar

Zero carbon brewing | The Southern Section of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and BFBi are holding an environmental webinar on “Saving the planet one grain at a time. Progress towards Zero Carbon Brewing and Distilling industries” on 22nd April 2021 (World Earth Day). Attendance will be free of charge.

---

Krones’ new climate strategy scientifically sound

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions | Facing up to its entrepreneurial responsibility for today's society and succeeding generations, the Krones Executive Board has adopted a new climate strategy. It includes a comprehensive package of measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the Group.

---

Confusion over glyphosate detected in German beers

Bad news travel fast and to unexpected places. Only three days after German media reported that a Munich environmental institute had detected traces of the weed killer glyphosate in 14 German beer brands, Korean retailers and restaurateurs on 29 February were biting their nails, wondering whether to place any more orders with the country’s importers of German beers.

---

Carlsberg and partners to develop biodegradable wood-fiber bottle

In the context of its participation in a panel on Wasteless Supply at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2015, Carlsberg announced a ground-breaking agreement to develop the world’s first fully biodegradable wood-fiber bottle for beverages.