Small Australian brewers outpace multinationals on sustainability — SkimNews
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- Bodriggy Brewing Company became the first Victorian and second Australian brewery certified carbon neutral under the federal government's Climate Active program, offsetting emissions through carbon credits and targeting a further 30% emissions cut by 2030.
- Asahi Group Holdings (owner of Carlton Draught, VB, Great Northern, Balter and Mountain Goat) and Kirin Holdings (owner of XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, James Boag, Little Creatures and Stone and Wood) both run on 100% renewable electricity, targeting net zero by 2040 and 2050 respectively.
- Adelaide University researchers and Coopers Brewery are trialling barley cultivars that dry faster, reducing the gas-fired energy required during the kilning stage of malting — Prof Matthew Tucker said the goal is using less energy rather than greener energy.
- Young Henrys installed 30kW of solar in 2016 and is working with the University of Technology Sydney on bioreactors that feed fermentation CO2 to algae, which is then blended with spent grain into livestock feed trialled on 80 sheep.
- The sheep trial found the algae-supplemented feed improved both meat flavour and omega-3 content, and the project is now in its fifth stage seeking a livestock species that also reduces methane emissions, according to Young Henrys director Richard Adamson.
- Australians consume 69 million litres of beer annually, generating an estimated 17 billion bottles and cans a year, fewer than half of which are recycled, with drink containers ranking as the third most littered item according to Clean Up Australia.
Why it matters: The multinational owners of Australia's biggest beer brands have set 2040-2050 net-zero deadlines, but small independents like Bodriggy are already carbon-neutral certified and Young Henrys is piloting carbon-capture-to-livestock-feed technology now. With Australians discarding 17 billion bottles and cans a year and fewer than half recycled, consumer pressure on taproom and retail choices could accelerate adoption of these methods faster than corporate timelines.
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