Heineken's Irish subsidiary, Heineken Ireland, has said that it is 96% sufficient in carbon dioxide through the use of capture and reuse initiatives, with recycled carbon dioxide used to carbonate its draught beer.
The company's Cork brewery captures carbon dioxide that is created in the natural fermentation process, and then re-uses it, part of the drinks firm's broad commitment to sustainability across its operations.
The group has just published its 2021 sustainability progress report, in which it outlined its efforts to reuse by products such as carbon dioxide and grain dust and repurpose kegs of beer during lockdown.
During the pandemic, Heineken sought to ensure that no beer went to waste, undertaking efforts to repurpose kegs of beer – over 19 million pints in total across 2020 and 2021 – from the cellars of pubs in lockdown and turning them into energy and animal feed.
Rollout Of 'Zero Zones'
The group has also increased its efforts to support drinking in moderation, with the establishment of more than a thousand 'Zero Zones' in retailers and off licences across Ireland, which are used to showcase all no alcohol and low alcohol products, rather than just Heineken Ireland's own brands.
The business has achieved a 28% reduction in emissions from production since 2018 in its Irish operations, and aims to achieve zero emissions from its brewery by 2030. It has also pledged carbon neutrality in the full value chain by 2040, and has removed over four million pieces of plastic packaging from its product portfolio, as well as removing PET plastic bottles from its range entirely.
'Made Substantial Prorgress'
“While 2021 continued to pose significant challenges for the drinks and hospitality industry, at Heineken Ireland we are incredibly proud that we have continued to make substantial progress in our sustainability initiatives across the business and in setting ambitious environmental goals for the future," commented Barbara-Anne Richardson, Heineken Ireland’s sustainability and public affairs manager
We are delighted to report that we succeeded in our 2021 ambition to remove over four million pieces of plastic packaging from our portfolio and are working towards removing half a million single use plastic cups from a range of events this summer.
Pictured are Maarten Schuurman, MD, and Barbara-Anne Richardson, Sustainability and Public Affairs Manager, Heineken Ireland.
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© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest drinks news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
