OUR COMMITMENT
Carbon Neutral Commitment
Across our global operations, Lion is committed to reducing our carbon emissions. While we continue to drive carbon abatement programs, we are increasingly looking to offset our remaining carbon footprint with certified carbon credits.
Lion Australia is a Climate Active certified carbon neutral brewer, making us Australia’s first large-scale brewer to achieve this. Becoming Climate Active certified has seen us build upon our carbon reduction program with certified carbon credits that offset our remaining organisational carbon footprint.
Since setting a target to reduce our carbon footprint by 30% by 2025 from our 2015 baseline, we have established a ‘whole brewery’ carbon reduction approach including energy efficiency, biogas utilisation, rooftop solar and renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) through to providing brewer’s grain to farmers to reduce livestock emissions. By 2025 we’ll be using 100% renewable energy to brew all our beers.
Through these initiatives, we have completely transformed our breweries, including the 141-year old XXXX Brewery in Brisbane, and the 64-year old Tooheys Brewery in Sydney.
We remain committed to reducing the energy intensity in production over time, by constantly pushing the boundaries of efficiency and adopting industry-leading innovation.
In the meantime, we have activated carbon offsetting and become a Climate Active certified carbon neutral organisation as a ‘last lever’ or final addition to our carbon abatement strategies.
From 2020, 107,000 tonnes of carbon per year are offset through a portfolio of verified projects focusing on bush regeneration and conservation. This is the equivalent of our remaining direct manufacturing emissions, for example, natural gas and electricity consumption at our breweries, and other indirect emissions linked to business activity, such as business travel.
But we won’t stop there. We are exploring options for product certification via collaboration with our supply chain to address other indirect emissions including from ingredients, packaging and transport.
It’s a journey, but we’re confident we’re moving in the right direction.
In 2020 we were also proud to announce that one of our most iconic New Zealand brands, Steinlager, became New Zealand’s First large scale beer brand to be Toitū Envirocare carbonzero certified.
To reach this milestone, every step in Steinlager’s product life cycle has seen emissions reduced or offset. But we aren’t stopping there. Our entire New Zealand organisation intends to be certified carbon zero in 2021.
New Belgium Brewing’s Fat Tire Amber Ale also became the first certified carbon neutral beer in the United States in 2020. Fat Tire’s carbon neutral certification is the next major step in New Belgium’s decades-long efforts to make climate action core to their business model. In addition, New Belgium Brewing is committed to making its entire business carbon neutral by 2030.
