Raising the bar: making beer more sustainable

This month on the Sustainability Solved Podcast, our hosts Will Richardson and Charlie Luxton delve into the world of sustainable brewing. Joining them from Berlin is Roland Pahl-Dobrick, the Beer Market Manager from Pall Filtration, to shed light on the intricacies and challenges of sustainability in brewing.

Brewing Process and Impact:

- Unlike wine filtration, beer filtration faces unique challenges due to its scale, volume, and sensitivity as a product.

- The conversation highlights the staggering waste generated by filtration processes in the brewing industry, estimated to reach tens of millions of tonnes.

- Traditional beer filtration using Diatomaceous Earth (DE), a fossilised algae, produces substantial waste, rendering it unfit for recycling or reuse, particularly problematic for large breweries.

Sustainability Challenges and Progress in Brewing:

- Roland discusses the industry’s movement away from DE filtration toward membrane-based filtration, which significantly curbs waste production by over 90%, leading to substantial water savings and reductions in carbon footprint.

- Advancements in brewing technology have notably slashed water usage by up to 80% from previous decades.

Future of Sustainable Brewing:

- Brewing companies are increasingly adopting robust sustainability programmes aimed at minimising waste, enhancing operational efficiency, and prioritising environmentally friendly production processes.

- Consumer preferences, particular amongst the younger demographic, are driving companies to embrace eco-friendly technologies, aligning with evolving market demands.

- Roland explains how attention is also being directed toward addressing the environmental impact of packaging, including efforts to lightweight materials, explore reusable packaging options, and consider more sustainable transportation methods.

This episode of Sustainability Solved is sponsored by Business Declares, a not-for-profit business network who inspire, encourage, and accelerate action within businesses to address the climate, ecological, and social emergency.

They are an active network of 100+ businesses who back our commitments to reach net-zero, restore and protect nature, and advocate for regulatory change.

Join Business Declares as a member to get help accelerating your action on net-zero targets and on nature targets for your business from the network. Find out more here: Business Declares

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