Australians throw away an estimated 17bn beer bottles and cans every year, and fewer than half get recycled. Most well-known Australian beer brands belong to overseas conglomerates. Breweries and drinks companies are now pursuing different ways to reduce emissions and waste from their packaging.
Who Owns the Brands
Japanese conglomerate Asahi Group Holdings owns Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter (VB), Great Northern, Balter and Mountain Goat. Kirin Holdings owns XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, James Boag, Little Creatures and Stone and Wood. Both owners have set energy and emissions targets. Yet containers remain a major problem: drinks containers rank as the third most littered items, according to Clean Up Australia.
Asahi buys 100% renewable electricity for its Australian and overseas breweries and offices, and aims to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Kirin targets 100% renewable electricity by 2040 and net zero by 2050. Those goals set a direction, but they don’t erase the scale of material used and discarded today.
Beer’s footprint starts before it reaches a bottle or tap. Growing barley takes fertilisers and energy-intensive machinery, and malting grain can use substantial water. At Adelaide University, researchers and Coopers Brewery are assessing whether certain barley cultivars could make malting more efficient. Faster-drying strains could cut energy use during kilning, a stage that typically relies on gas.
“The cheapest energy and the greenest energy is the one that you don’t need to use,” said Prof Matthew Tucker, director of the Waite Research Institute at Adelaide University. He said better barley cultivars could reduce the energy and resources required for production, making it more sustainable and economical.
Small Changes, Corporate Targets
Bodriggy Brewing Company senior brewer Andrew Joseph called sustainable brewing “the future of brewing in Australia”. The Melbourne brewery became the second Australian and first Victorian brewery to earn carbon-neutral certification through the federal government’s voluntary Climate Active program. It bought carbon credits to offset emissions, an approach the article describes as contentious, and plans to cut emissions by a further 30% by 2030.
Bodriggy recently bought its own grain silo to reduce delivery frequency. It also worked with packing manufacturer Pactec to design and create reusable keg lids. Next, the brewery plans to introduce e-water, a sustainable cleaning technology, and shift to an electric vehicle fleet. Joseph said consumers can press for sustainable products and speak up about sustainable practices. He believes that could inspire other breweries to become greener.
In Sydney, Young Henrys has partnered with researchers and community investors. The Newtown craft brewery installed 30kW of solar in 2016 with help from those investors, and buys 100% renewable electricity for its remaining power needs. It’s also working with researchers at the University of Technology Sydney on a small reactor to capture carbon emissions from beer fermentation.
Capturing Emissions, Reusing Waste
The reactor pumps carbon dioxide into bioreactors, where algae turns it into oxygen through photosynthesis. Researchers mix the protein-rich algae with spent grain, a brewing byproduct, to make livestock feed. They trialled the feed with 80 head of sheep, which appeared to enjoy it. After slaughter, a testing panel tasted the lamb and believed the algae improved both its flavour and omega-3 content.
In the project’s fifth stage, researchers hope to identify a livestock species that reduces methane emissions while supporting animal health, productivity and product quality. Young Henrys director Richard Adamson said reducing methane from brewing and animals, while improving omega-3s, could make the approach viable.
Customers can also reuse containers at the point of sale. Some breweries and pubs let people take draft beer home in growlers, 1.89 litre flasks that can be washed and refilled and typically hold about a six-pack’s worth. A 900ml squealer offers another choice, and directories such as Beer Crawl help people find local venues with growler refills. Waste-reduction tools include corporate targets, research partnerships, community-backed solar and reusable containers. Companies controlling much of the market will decide what gets adopted and at what scale.