In Canada, Budweiser has partnered with Direct Energy, one of North America’s largest retail providers of electricity and natural gas, to receive ECOLOGO Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
Budweiser’s renewable electricity in Canada is being sourced from renewable biomass, hydroelectric and wind power sources.
Todd Allen, vice president of marketing, Labatt Breweries of Canada, said: "Beer is intimately tied to the environment it comes from and brewing our beer relies on a healthy environment.
"Through this initiative, we can make sure that every watt we use to brew Budweiser helps green Canada's electricity grid and contributes to our long-term business sustainability."
Budweiser's Canadian breweries
Direct Energy sources its RECs from renewable electricity projects across Canada. The quantity of renewable electricity represented by the RECs supplied to Budweiser will be around 25,870 MWh annually: the equivalent of powering 2,323 homes.
In British Columbia, home of Budweiser's Creston brewery, Direct Energy will provide RECs generated through biomass. In Alberta, where Budweiser has a brewery in Edmonton, Direct Energy will provide RECs from hydroelectric sources and is also looking at using wind power sources.
In Central and Eastern Canada (where breweries are located in London, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and St. John’s, Newfoundland) Direct Energy is providing RECs sourced from hydroelectric generators in Quebec.
"To brew the perfect beer, we need a mixture of energy – both electricity and heat. Nearly one third of our brewing energy comes from electricity, while the rest comes from heat," says Budweiser. "The heat for the brewing process comes from a mixture of energy sources including natural gas, which we are still dependent on. However, we have been looking at using low carbon sources such as biogas and landfill gas to help reduce our natural gas usage."
In 2017 AB InBev set out goals to secure all its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025, reducing the company’s operational carbon footprint by 30%.
The Budweiser brand already uses a 100% Renewable Electricity symbol in the US to show that the equivalent of the electricity used to brew the beer in the US each year is now sourced from wind power. In the UK, Budweiser is transitioning to solar power and will also feature the 100% renewable electricity symbol.
