To brew beer, you need a lot of water. Therefore, over the past five years, the Green Deal Brewers sought and found ways to use water more sustainably in their production process. Together, they saved a total of 2 286 822 m³ of water between September 2018 and December 2023, the equivalent of 915 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Today, the results will be presented to the broader food industry at a study day.
Water is not only one of the basic ingredients of beer, it is also an important resource in the brewing process: plant cleaning, rinsing, cooling, steam production … Therefore, breweries rely heavily on water of very good quality. On the other hand, our water resources are coming under increasing pressure. Sustainable use of water is therefore a priority within the brewing industry.
“One of the main challenges for this Green Deal was to reduce water use. They succeeded in that with flying colors: the Green Deal Brewers’ water consumption decreased by about 9% per liter of beer brewed.”
915 olympic pools water conservation
The partners of the Green Deal Brewers are presenting the results to the wider food industry today at a closing event in Bruges. Several breweries explain how they have made their production process more sustainable with concrete interventions.
The following measures passed in recent years:
- complete mapping of water consumers
- increasing water awareness among employees
- new treatment techniques on incoming water (e.g., de-ironer)
- optimization of automatic cleaning equipment (CIP) and rinsing machines
- renewing and improving process installations : installation of new keg and bottle filling lines, optimization of cleaning procedures, closed circuits, new beer centrifuges/filters, new techniques cooling
- new water reuse facilities on wastewater treatment effluent
- optimization of the use of treated wastewater, drainage water and rainwater
1.2 million m³ of deep groundwater less
In addition to water conservation, participating brewers also had the goal of pumping less water from (deeper) aquifers in poor quantitative condition. That objective was also realized. Breweries recorded a decrease of 1 189 590 m³ of deep groundwater consumption. Instead of using deep groundwater, the breweries concerned are switching to other water sources such as tap water, shallow groundwater, rainwater and especially recup water (treated wastewater, reuse rinse water) for non-consumption purposes.
Learning network
During the Green Deal Brewers, all private and public partners met regularly in a learning network to share knowledge, gain inspiration and discuss bottlenecks. This exchange contributed to the achieved sustainability of the brewing industry.
About the Green Deal Brewers
Water is becoming increasingly scarce, but it is essential for brewing beer. How can we use water smarter in the brewing industry? With the Green Deal Brewers, sector organizations, breweries, the Flemish government and the Flemish Knowledge Center Water join forces.
Learn more about the Green Deal Brewers.
