Beer Companies Across the Spectrum Make Environmental Moves

Two very different brewing companies, Colorado mega-brewer Coors and Maine-based microbrewery Peak Organic Brewing, have unveiled plans and targets for reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Colorado Coors announced that it would reduce its emissions by 12 percent, tied to its production levels, by 2010 as part of its partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders Program. Coors is the country's third largest beermaker, has also recently undertaken a series of environmental initiatives, including a plan to steadily reduce its energy use year after year, and converting some of the waste of its brewery in Golden, Colo..., into ethanol for sale in the marketplace.

On a more local-oriented scale, Peak Brewing announced that it had struck a deal with Manhattan Beer Distributors in New York City to deliver beer using just the company's 30 CNG-converted vehicles, a move that will save more than 227 tons of emissions in the coming years.

We can conclude that beer companies as well as beer drinkers are facing a scare this year, as a combination of bad weather and supply problems have combined to cause a supply shortage and price increases. One cause of the shortage has been the demand for biofuels, which has raised corn prices to the point where farmers will switch from growing barley for beer to growing corn for fuel.

Olivier Neyt
Source: GreenBiz.com