July 30, 2008

Anheuser-Busch To Pour 5 Billion Green Beers In 2009

Anheuser-Busch announced it will brew about one in seven beers, or over 5 billion 12.oz servings, with alternative energy by 2009 as part of its goal to run its U.S. operations on 15 percent renewable fuel by 2010.

The company is currently installing alternative energy technology at its Houston and Fairfield breweries, which will be operational by year end. Once completed 10 out 12 Anheuser-Busch breweries in the U.S. will be powered by alternative energy.

The Fairfield brewery will generate 15 percent of its fuel needs from a bio-energy recovery system, which turns brewing wastewater into fuel. Three percent of the brewery’s electricity needs will be generated on-site through solar panels.

The Houston brewery will use biogas from Allied Waste Services’ McCarty Road Landfill through an agreement with Ameresco McCarty Energy. When combined with the facility’s BERS, the alternative sources are anticipated to provide more than 70 percent of the brewery’s fuel needs.

As a member of the U.S. EPA Climate Leaders Program, Anheuser-Busch is aiming to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions to 5 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2010 for all of its U.S. operations. In addition, the company also plans to increase the total use of renewable fuel from 8 percent to 15 percent in the same time period.

Other breweries are also going green in their own way. Sapporo is planning carbon labels on its Black Label draft beer starting next year. New Belgium Brewery, maker of Fat Tire, recently conducted a life cycle analysis of the beer to find out what improvements they can make.

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