
Contrary to what you might think, beer production isn't where all the water consumption happens. "MillerCoors found that about 90% of its water usage occurred on farms."
Jon Sullivan/Wikimedia Commons
In the big beer business, looming water scarcity is definitely a concern. But contrary to what you might think, beer production isn't where all the water consumption happens.
This week The Guardian reports on an unlikely partnership between Idaho barley farmer Gary Beck, number two U.S. beer company MillerCoors, Walmart, Idaho Power and The Nature Conservancy.
MillerCoors' biggest customer is Walmart. As part of its sustainability initiatives, Walmart asked major suppliers to do full lifecycle assessment of their products. MillerCoors found that the "brewing process accounts for only a small fraction of the water footprint of a six pack." (You might find this Ecotrope post on lifecycle assessments helpful.)
“MillerCoors found that about 90% of its water usage occurred on farms, says Kim Marotta, the company's director of sustainability. Now the company is tracking its water footprint "from grain to glass," Marotta says. "We needed to look outside of our four walls, and into our agricultural supply chain.”
So, MillerCoors, Walmart and Idaho Power all chipped in to fund water-conserving upgrades for Beck's farm -- which provides 2,500 acres of barley for the beer company -- as a "showcase farm." Meaning the farm will collect and share data about the efforts with other growers. The Nature Conservancy - who leases some its land to barley farmers - contributed their expertise to develop a best practices for water conservation.
The project on Beck's farm has been a success.
“His thorough water-conservation efforts - including redesigning equipment, abandoning some fields and using more compost - have paid off big time, saving water, energy and money.”
The hope is that this can kick-start incentive for other growers to employ conservation methods once they see the economic benefits.
_-- Toni Tabora-Roberts_