In January 2023 we started our journey towards becoming a more sustainable business and teamed up with Net Zero Now to give us an insight into how our activities as a brewery contribute to carbon emissions & how we can effectively reduce our impact on the environment. The process of gathering data took three months and covered everything from understanding the quantity of hops coming from abroad to the recyclable materials on site.

We stand by the three Rs rule, reduce, reuse, and recycle; and in order to adapt efficiently on our journey to become net zero we’ve taken measures already and have plenty more planned. 

Reduce

Over the past year we’ve implemented the following significant changes that have made an impact to our overall operation.  

• The introduction of the nitrogen plant has cut our dependency on Co2, in 2023 we saw a 15.5% reduction per litre of beer produced.  
• A fine spray had replaced the bottle and can washing system on the packaging line to reduce water wastage.  
• Our shrink wrap (covering the can & bottle cases) is now 30% recycled and the plastic caps on our kegs are recyclable. 

Reuse

• The water used to rinse our product packaging is captured and used to rinse the floors of the brewhouse before sanitation, gaining a predicted saving of 160,000L of fresh water each year.    
• The introduction of 1088 solar panels in August 2023, means that 40% of electricity used within the brewery is now being sourced on site via green energy.  One of the uses for the electricity generated is to charge our electric forklifts.  
• The grains used in our brews are collected and then given to local livestock creating a farm-brewery-farm life cycle.

Recycle

As standard, 100% ‘waste’ created by or passing through the brewery is recycled, nothing is sent to landfill, we recycle everything from food waste to hard plastics. 92.9% of waste in 2023 was recycled and the rest was sent to EFW (energy for waste).  

So what’s next?

• To collaborate with our local farmers & source our barley from local farms in the most biodiverse & sustainable way. Yields may be lower, but this may be countered with Carbon offsetting and the reduced requirement for fertiliser/pesticides.  
• Review opportunities to use electric delivery vehicles.  
• Define a system to capture rainwater to flush toilets.  

• The use of heat capture from the kitchen area to heat the office/Taproom & Kitchen.  
• We continue to work with English hop farmers who provide an incredible selection of high quality products.