As the weather improves and the hospitality sector starts to cautiously re-open across much of Europe, many of us will find our thoughts turning to the joy of a cool drink savoured on a warm terrace. Whether you prefer a beer, a soft drink or something else, we have good news about the sustainability of what’s in your glass.

Did you know that breweries across Europe are making bold sustainability commitments, decarbonising their operations and using renewable electricity to power their businesses?

Find out how you can do the same by exploring our renewable electricity Buyers Toolkit.

So, what’s on tap tonight?

Heineken

Heineken has made a bold commitment to decarbonise its own production by 2030 and its full value chain by 2040. Since they committed to transitioning to renewable energy in 2018, the brewer has implemented over 130 renewable energy projects, including five of the world’s 10 largest on-site solar-powered breweries.

In December 2020, Heineken joined with Nouryon, Philips and Signify to become the first consortium to sign a pan-European virtual PPA. The agreement will support the development of 35 wind turbines in Finland, which are expected to produce enough renewable energy to reduce CO2 emissions by 230,000 tons, or the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 40,000 homes!

Read our profile with Bas Lubach from Heineken and learn more about their sustainability plans.

Asahi

As well as the eponymous beer, Asahi are also responsible for a number of Polish brews such as Żubr, Prażubr and Tyskie, which are brewed by Kompania Piwowarska. From 2021, all three breweries of Kompania Piwowarska will run on 100% renewable electricity, specifically Tyskie Browary Książęce in Tychy, the Dojlidy Brewery in Białystok and Lech Browary Wielkopolski in Poznań.

Last year, Asahi signed a 10-year PPA with Innogy to supply their Polish breweries with clean energy from a wind farm in the north of Poland. Later this year, they are planning to power one third of their operations in Central Europe with renewable energy. That’s equivalent to three billion beer bottles every year!

“We are proud of the strides we have taken on renewable energy within Asahi Europe & International. The renewable energy project for Poland is one of our flagship projects that showcases our intent and ambition towards 100% renewable energy. We want all beer to be made using sustainable electricity. So it is a pleasure for us to announce the energy deal with Innogy which means that Kompania Piwowarska’s is switching to wind power,” Preeti Srivastav, Group Sustainability Director.

Budweiser

AB InBev, the brewers of Budweiser and other beers, will soon be brewing with 100% renewable electricity in Europe. In 2020, AB InBev signed a virtual PPA with global renewable energy developer, BayWa r.e., to purchase 100% renewable electricity for its European brewing operations.

The 130-megawatt deal is with two solar projects in Spain, allowing the drinks company to power their 14 breweries in western Europe with clean, reliable electricity.

Jason Warner, Zone President for Europe at AB InBev, said, “As we welcome the new European Green Deal, we now ask our consumers, customers, colleagues, business partners and fellow companies to join us in shifting towards renewable power.”

Carling and Doom Bar

This March, Molson Coors Beverage Company signed a PPA enabling it to transition to 100% renewable electricity in the UK. The 10-year PPA between Molson Coors and RWE will see the brewer source electricity from a 22-turbine wind farm in Yorkshire.

RWE has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040. You can learn more about their ambitions in this video from RE-Source 2020.

RE-Source seeks to remove barriers to renewable energy procurement and to support corporates in decarbonising their operations. We are delighted to see companies like the ones above taking strong steps towards a cleaner, greener future. Visit our Buyers Toolkit and see how you can make the switch to renewable energy.

Thanks to these companies, we can relax with a glass in the knowledge that we are drinking beer brewed by sustainable breweries.