BENGALURU: Brewing, as we know it, is not a sustainable practice. The process is highly energy-intensive, it uses large amounts of water and generates high volumes of wastewater and organic waste, not to forget the spent grains and hops, which are an environmental hazard. Therefore, innovative, entrepreneurial, and technology-led responses to these existential threats, are the need of the hour. Recently, many breweries are adopting strict preventive measures to reduce their environmental footprint. Here are some sustainable practices followed by local breweries:
Water conservation: You may have heard a friend sarcastically joke, “Thirsty? Have a beer. It’s practically 95 per cent water.” Although that’s all in good fun, it turns out that on average, a brewery uses three to seven barrels of water for just one barrel of beer. Water is used for cleaning, cooling, and packaging the beer too. So how can we minimise the use of water?
One way to do so is by recapturing the wastewater from the brewing processes. Many brewers currently, reclaim the wastewater from the filtering process and put it for alternate uses. Many are exploring ways to purify the water to make it fit for cooking.
Waste management: Indian breweries are reducing waste generation by implementing waste segregation, recycling, and composting practices. The by-products of the brewing process, such as spent grain and yeast, are used as animal feed or fertiliser. All of the waste product from grain, yeast and hops is taken by local farmers and used for stock feed or composting. Sometimes we even use spent grain in our kitchen to make food products for our restaurant. Spent grains can be used as filler for homemade dog treats or as a supplemental feed for cattle.
Energy efficiency: Breweries are now adopting energy-efficient brewing technologies to reduce their carbon footprint. Most are moving towards renewable energy sources to power operations. Some breweries have already added solar panels, installed onsite wastewater treatment plants, insulated brewing vessels and recaptured steam from the brewing process.
Packaging: With a plethora of options available, adopting sustainable packaging practices such as the use of biodegradable materials like glass bottles and cans, is the way forward.
Community engagement: Co-creation of value, the creation of symbiotic and sustainable inter-relationships is important. There are many local communities, startups and organisations working at the grass-root level to support sustainable initiatives. By engaging with them and tapping into collective intelligence, we can facilitate sustainable development on a local scale.