Going forward the company is targeting a 10 percent reduction in energy use over 2009 levels, by 2012. This means it will need to reduce its energy use to 120.2 Mj/hl, or 1.5 percent, next year. AB Inbev says it is on track to meet this goal.
The company’s Leuven, Belgium, brewery achieved a 4.5 percent reduction in energy use in 2011, due in part to the modernization of its cogeneration plant, the company says. A new gas turbine generates electricity onsite and then uses the waste heat in the brewing process.
AB InBev is targeting a 99 percent recycle rate by the end of 2012. The company says it remains on track to reach this goal. In 2011 it made steady progress, recycling 98.2 percent of its waste, up from 97.8 percent in 2010. AB InBev now has 118 plants that have achieved zero-waste-to-landfill status.
In 2011, it disposed of over 6 million metric tons of waste. Just under 105,000 metric tons of that waste went to landfill, around 5.9 million metric tons were composted, and around 5,000 metric tons were classed a hazardous.
In Brazil, AB InBev created the “Ambev Recicla” program that created the country’s first bottles made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. In February, Anheuser-Busch – an AB InBev subsidiary – and Blue Marble Biomaterials signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a bio-refinery pilot at one of the brewer’s North American facilities. The system will convert grains and biogas from the brewing process into chemicals that can be used in other applications, such as food, cosmetics and personal care products, while reducing emissions and waste, the companies said.
