Kerry releases online brewing sustainability calculator

Brewers are aiming at reducing the environmental and bottom-line costs of brewing; Kerry's simple online sustainability calculator can quickly show producers and brewing executives the way

Kerry, the world's leading taste and nutrition company, has launched a new sustainability calculator that enables brewers to easily analyze the potentially significant benefits of using sustainable brewing processing aids and enzymes. The tool's purpose is to allow people involved in the brewing industry to quickly see what potential cost savings and environmental sustainability gains could be delivered to their unique brewery situations.

The sustainability calculator focuses on three main aspects of the brewing process: raw materials, brewing operations, and waste management. With these three components accounting for 35% of a beer's overall environmental impact, the tool highlights attainable opportunities for brewers interested in reducing their environmental and bottom-line costs without incurring significant capital expenditures.

Juan Aguiriano, Group head of Sustainability at Kerry Group, commented on the sustainability challenge and the benefits of using the online calculator, "Around the world, brewing is well recognized as an energy-intensive process that uses a significant amount of water and power while simultaneously generating a considerable volume of waste. Its environmental impact is assessed regularly, and although efforts in recent years to improve sustainability have delivered progress, more is needed. One way to see what is possible is to take the Kerry quick online sustainability calculator test to determine the potential gains. Every brewery is unique, so the calculator's results are highly customized and can reveal substantial available benefits."

The calculator process begins by asking for the preferred measurement in barrels or hectoliters and then the brewery size (in the total volume of output per annum). Respondents are asked to check boxes regarding five key objectives that will help analyze each brewery's unique situation. Each of these deals with brewing solutions that don't require a capex budget to implement, making them highly accessible solutions. Respondents are asked which of these are of interest to their brewery, for example:

• Increase extract yields, reduce viscosity and increase levels of raw or unmalted adjuncts.

• Increase trub and cold break compaction, produce clearer worts, and achieve longer beer filtration cycles.

• Increase fermenter capacity, improve hop utilization, and reduce tank cleaning requirements.

• Improve yeast sedimentation and beer clarification to reduce maturation times and improve beer filtration and long-term beer stability.

• Improve yeast viability and vitality in high-adjunct/low-nitrogen brews and optimize fermentation/maturation times.

The sustainability calculator then quantifies the potential positive impacts of using Kerry's brewing solutions. Applying all five solutions can deliver significant cumulative results. These results, verified by a third-party sustainability technical analysis, can deliver up to 19% energy use reductions, CO₂ emissions reductions of 41%, and EUR 1.70/hl (US$2.35/bbl) cost savings.

Eoin Lalor, Global R&D director for Alcoholic Beverages at Kerry, commented, "While progress toward sustainability in every brewery has its unique trajectory, there are impressive possibilities available to help all breweries reduce environmental and brewing costs. With consumers increasingly seeking out purpose-driven brands that are environmentally focused—almost 90% of global consumers now expect companies to invest in sustainability efforts—the rewards can be high. The Covid-19 pandemic, if anything, has accelerated consumer interest in sustainability, opening up opportunities for brewers to take a progressive position on this important topic."

Kerry's advanced targeted brewing ingredients and enzymes provide brewers with a suite of product options to improve sustainability within their production processes as they simultaneously decrease costs. With sustainability never as important as it is today, these solutions will appeal to brewers seeking to enhance their sustainability efforts, reduce their carbon footprint, lower production costs, and develop a brand message that will resonate with consumers.