Environmental Impacts Of Small Breweries

Abstract

Every human should dream of an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world, where the challenges of climate change and loss of biodiversity are successfully addressed. This of course is an attainable dream, but the system is broken such that the current trend cannot help us attain this dream due to humanity’s inappropriate behavior. Due to human activities through the unsustainable production and use of energy, water, food and other resources, which undermines efforts to promote sustainable development., our environment is changing on all scales, from local to global. Some of the environmental challenges faced today include damaging of the ozone layer, climate change, unprecedented rate of biodiversity decrease, increasing air pollution, water scarcity, and land degradation.

The brewing industry contributes to these environmental challenges through its use of raw materials and energy in the production and sales of beer. The process is energy intensive, uses large quantities of raw materials, chemicals and packaging materials, and generates different waste types. It is important to understand the environmental impacts and try as much as reasonably possible to minimize the impacts without compromising product quality. Unlike in larger breweries with automized processes, the craft brewing process is mostly controlled manually. For this, care must be taken with the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s), and waste and energy management systems.

If decision makers understand the triple interdependence of economic, social and environmental factors, integrating them into policies and every one of us acts ethically, we can achieve economic growth within the constraints of social and environmental sustainability.