Australians drink 69 million litres of beer each year, while an estimated 17 billion bottles and cans are used and discarded annually. Fewer than half are recycled. Most of the country’s best-known beer brands belong to companies based overseas, including Japanese conglomerates Asahi Group Holdings and Kirin Holdings. Australian breweries and drinks companies are pursuing alternative brewing methods, renewable energy and reusable containers to reduce emissions and packaging waste.
Drinks containers rank as the third most littered items, according to Clean Up Australia. The sheer volume of discarded packaging puts reuse and recycling at the centre of the industry’s environmental efforts, even as the brands most familiar to Australian drinkers sit within international corporate groups.
Overseas ownership, local production
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 companies have set targets for electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions across their operations.
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 targets cover the companies’ operations. The article gives no estimate of how much emissions the commitments will remove from Australian beer production.
Melbourne-based Bodriggy Brewing Company is taking another route. Senior brewer Andrew Joseph said, “sustainable brewing is the future of brewing in Australia”. Bodriggy became the second Australian and first Victorian brewery certified carbon neutral through the federal government’s voluntary Climate Active program. The brewery 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 bought its own grain silo to reduce delivery frequency and worked with packing manufacturer Pactec to design and create reusable keg lids. Its future goals include bringing in e-water, a sustainable cleaning technology, and switching to an electric vehicle fleet. Joseph said consumers could encourage other breweries by seeking sustainable products and voicing their views on practices. They can push for change.
Changing production and capturing carbon
Barley growing requires fertilisers and energy-intensive machinery, while malting grain can consume substantial water. Adelaide University researchers are working with Coopers Brewery to assess whether particular barley cultivars could make malting more efficient. Strains that dry more quickly could cut the energy used during kilning, a stage that typically relies on gas.
Prof Matthew Tucker, director of the Waite Research Institute at Adelaide University, said: “The cheapest energy and the greenest energy is the one that you don’t need to use.” He said better barley cultivars could reduce the energy and resources needed for production, making it more sustainable and economical.
In Sydney, Newtown craft brewery Young Henrys installed 30kW of solar in 2016 with help from community investors. It buys 100% renewable electricity for its additional power needs and works with researchers at the University of Technology Sydney on a small reactor to capture carbon emissions from beer fermentation.
The system pumps captured carbon dioxide into bioreactors, where algae converts it into oxygen through photosynthesis. Researchers blend 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 its flavour and omega-3 content.
In the project’s fifth stage, researchers hope to identify a livestock species that reduces methane emissions while benefiting animal health, productivity and product quality. Young Henrys director Richard Adamson said combining methane reduction in brewing and animals while improving omega-3s could make the approach viable.
Some breweries and pubs also let customers take draft beer home in reusable growlers: 1.89-litre flasks that customers can wash and refill, and that typically hold about a six-pack’s worth of beer. A 900ml squealer offers a smaller option. Directories such as Beer Crawl help customers find local venues offering refills. These efforts tackle packaging waste through reuse, but many leading brands still belong to overseas companies.