A refreshed roadmap for UK brewers shows how supply chain cooperation will be key to reaching net-zero. David Burrows reports.
Give me the big numbers. UK brewers are responsible for 2.2MtCO2e every year, according to the Zero Carbon Forum (ZCF), which developed the new roadmap with UKHospitality and the British Beef and Pub Association. Scopes 1 and 2 account for 220ktCO2e and have to fall 90% by 2040, while scope 3 amounts to 2MtCO2e and must be cut by a minimum of 60% in the same timeframe.
Where are the hotspots? Scope 3 emissions represent between 60% and 90% of a brewery’s total emissions. This isn’t surprising. What is, perhaps, is the fact that only 15-20% of those are associated with agriculture. Packaging is the big hitter as far as brewery emissions are concerned, representing from 15% to 40%, depending on the product mix. Businesses that lean towards single-use cans and bottles, for example, have higher emissions than those selling in reusable kegs and casks. For a typical cask or keg-focused brewery packaging makes up just 18% of the total emissions, whereas for a large brewery also reliant on single-use packaging it can be 36%. Another 10% to 20% is from refrigeration of sold products in pubs, shops and people’s fridges (ZCF cites a 2015 study showing retail refrigeration can contribute 15-18% of a beer’s total carbon emissions, depending on its packaging).
What do brewers need to do? The first thing is to commit to net-zero. After that comes all the carbon calculations to determine what total emissions look like so a science-based target can be set. The likes of Greene King, Marston’s and Fuller’s have all committed to ZCF’s ambition to achieve net-zero by 2040. Then it’s all about reduction. Offsetting can wait and carbon neutrality could well prove a distraction. ZCF “does not advocate carbon neutrality on the route to net-zero, unless it can be done without diverting budget or resource from driving deep reductions”.
Time to act. For scopes 1 and 2 immediate action will involve securing renewable gas tariffs to cover the thermal energy demands of the brewing process. There will undoubtedly be a focus on energy efficiency, too, as tariffs continue to rise. The roadmap includes short case studies of where brewers have already started to eat into their scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. A significant proportion of a brewery’s heat demand is in the brewhouse, for example, where heat is used to raise the temperature of and boil wort at different stages of the process. Brewdog and Adnams have reduced emissions using vapour heat recovery systems in their brewhouses, improving efficiency and cutting carbon.
How about scope 3? For scope 3 the top targets will be packaging, product cooling and agriculture. These are the emissions that will prove harder to reach given they are outside the direct control of the brewer. Sustainable sourcing and supplier engagement are key, notes ZCF. Within the next few months, suppliers of barley, hops, packaging and everything else need to be engaged and plans devised to strip carbon from their systems. By 2028 those without science-based reduction plans in place could in theory be de-listed by some of the big brewers. The roadmap offers little detail on how to drive emissions from agriculture down but brewers will be aware of the threats they face. Barley yields are projected to decrease 17% in the coming years due to increased heat waves and droughts. Warmer winters lead to smaller, earlier harvests, decreasing the number of hop plants. And climate-related supply disruptions are projected to increase five times by 2030.
What should they do on packaging? This should be a “high priority”. ZCF suggests life cycle assessments of all packaging should be completed by 2025. “The most obvious way for the brewing industry to reduce packaging emissions is of course to engage customers and encourage much greater use of larger reusable containers like kegs and casks.” For single-use cans and bottles, the pace of incorporating more recycled content into packaging needs to pick up. A deposit return scheme (due in Scotland next year and England and Wales the year after, or possibly later) should (eventually) help push up levels of recycling and reduce emissions. Aluminium and glass are energy-intensive which is why some drinks companies are investing heavily in alternative packaging, like paper (though results so far are mixed). Some manufacturers have started producing lighter glass bottles: AB InBev has reduced the weight of its standard longneck beer bottle from 180 to 150 grams, reducing emissions per bottle by 17%.
How about logistics? This can account for 10% of a brewer’s footprint. In the current market, it’s unrealistic to fully implement electrification and biofuels across a brewery’s network, says ZCF: there are limitations such as infrastructure and range of electric vehicles. The brewing industry must therefore work closely with logistics companies and other relevant industries to optimise and coordinate processes. Budweiser Brewing Group, for example, has partnered with a logistics provider to switch half the HGV delivery fleet at one of its breweries from diesel fuel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) – the project will cut greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre driven by 92% compared to diesel.
Collaborate or die. ZCF director Bob Gordon says operators across the hospitality and foodservice sector are reducing energy consumption, managing waste more sustainably and engaging their teams and their customers. “It’s a strong start, but let’s be clear, these are easy pickings – the hard work is yet to come.” In a blog following COP27 he highlighted the words of UN secretary-general António Guterres who said in his opening speech: “Humanity has a choice – co-operate or perish. It is either a climate solidarity pact or a collective suicide pact.” For brewers, the forum has identified a total of 1.35MtCO2e that could be saved from collaboration between brewers, their suppliers, their customers and of course the government. There need to be more incentives (especially for smaller players), as well as higher investment in technology for example.
