Australian brewers go green from barley to keg — SkimNews
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- Bodriggy Brewing Company in Melbourne became the second Australian and first Victorian brewery certified carbon neutral under the federal Climate Active program by purchasing carbon credits, and plans a further 30% emissions cut by 2030.
- Young Henrys installed 30kW of solar in 2016 with community investors, runs on 100% renewable electricity, and is collaborating with the University of Technology Sydney on a bioreactor that converts fermentation CO2 into algae, then into livestock feed blended with spent grain — trialled on 80 sheep.
- Adelaide University researchers and Coopers Brewery are testing barley cultivars that dry faster to cut energy use in the gas-fired kilning stage of malting, with Waite Research Institute director Matthew Tucker calling avoided energy the 'cheapest and greenest' option.
- Asahi Group Holdings (owner of Carlton Draught, VB, Great Northern, Balter, Mountain Goat) purchases 100% renewable electricity and targets net zero by 2040, while Kirin Holdings (XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, James Boag, Little Creatures, Stone and Wood) targets 100% renewables by 2040 and net zero by 2050.
- Australians dispose of an estimated 17 billion bottles and cans annually — fewer than half recycled — and drinks containers rank as the third most littered item in the country, according to Clean Up Australia.
- Customers can purchase refillable 1.89L growlers or 900ml squealers at participating breweries and pubs, with venues searchable through services like Beer Crawl.
Why it matters: With Australians discarding 17 billion bottles and cans a year and fewer than half recycled, homegrown carbon-neutral brewers like Bodriggy gain a concrete environmental marketing edge over foreign-owned majors whose net-zero targets stretch to 2040-2050 — giving sustainability-minded consumers a genuinely differentiated choice at the tap.
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