Water footprint of beer more on the farm than in the brewery

Water footprinting: Identifying and addressing water risks in the value chain evaluated the water footprints – a way of understanding water use through the whole value chain – of SAB Miller beers produced in South Africa and the Czech Republic.

Better understanding the quantity, efficiency and geography of water use is enabling the two organizations to understand the impacts of water use, improve water management and work with communities and governments to protect watersheds.

The new report reveals that in South Africa, the total water footprint is equivalent to 155 litres of water for every 1 litre of beer such as Castle lager and Carling Black Label, with the vast majority of water use (98.3%) associated with crop cultivation, both local and imported.

For Plzensky Prazdroj, SABMiller’s Czech operation which produces Pilsner Urquell – the original pilsener beer which provided the blueprint for the majority of the world’s commercial beers – agriculture is again the most significant component; accounting for over 90% of the total water footprint.

However, the overall water footprint of Czech beer production is significantly smaller at 45 litres of water to every 1 litre of beer, with the differences due mainly to a greater reliance on irrigation in South Africa and the proportion and origin of imported crops.

In comparison with other beverages, beer’s water footprint is relatively small, with a recent Pacific Institute study finding that coffee, wine and apple juice all have water footprints more than three times that of beer.

However, the water footprint figure itself does not give the whole picture. More important is the context – where the water is used, what proportion of the area’s total water resource it represents, and whether water scarcity creates risks to the environment, communities and businesses now or in the future..

“The water footprints of SABMiller’s beers in South Africa and the Czech Republic are the first detailed corporate water footprints to be published and are progressive in the way they examine the impact of water use within these countries,” said Stuart Orr, WWF’s freshwater footprint manager.

“Most important is that this information is now used to ensure that their business partners – particularly farmers – are encouraged to use water more efficiently.”

In South Africa, SAB Ltd is working with barley farmers to improve irrigation and yields, and with WWF the company is now considering how to develop this further to protect the watersheds within which it operates.

“Water footprinting enables SABMiller to understand which parts of our supply chain might face water scarcity, or poor water quality, in the future, and means that we can plan now to deal with these future challenges,” said SABMiller head of sustainable development, Andy Wales.

“We will build on our existing partnerships with WWF in South Africa, Colombia, and Honduras to create further local watershed protection projects to reduce risk whilst protecting the environment”

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SABMiller

SABMiller is one of the world’s largest brewers with brewing interests and distribution agreements across six continents. The group’s wide portfolio of brands includes premium international beers such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as market-leading local brands such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow and Tyskie. SABMiller is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.

In the year ended 31 March 2009, the group reported US$3,405 million in adjusted pre-tax profit and group revenue of US$25,302 million. SABMiller is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.

This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
www.panda.org

South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd

The South African Breweries Limited was established in 1895 and employs in the region of 8,800 people, including its soft drink division ABI. It owns seven breweries with a brewing capacity of some 31.4 million hectolitres. Total beer volumes during the last financial year to end March 2009 reached 25.9-million hectolitres. SAB Ltd is the South African subsidiary of SABMiller plc.
www.sablimited.co.za

Plzensky Prazdroj

With total sales of over 10.7 million hectolitres in the calendar year 2008 (including licensed production abroad) and exports to more than 50 countries around the world, Plzensky Prazdroj a. s. is a major beer producer in the Czech Republic and the largest exporter of Czech beer.
www.prazdroj.cz

SABMiller and WWF’s local collaborations

SAB Ltd in South Africa is already working with WWF and the South African government’s Working for Water Programme to offset the water used by two breweries in scarce regions. In agriculture, SAB is working with WWF to develop methods for barley farmers to improve water use and encourage sustainable agriculture.

In Colombia, there is a joint project between WWF and SABMiller’s subsidiary, Bavaria, to develop and promote strategies which reduce the water footprint, protect natural ecosystems and improve the efficiency of Bavaria’s water use, through institutional, scientific, logistical and financial cooperation. One of the first steps in this will be to calculate the water footprint of Bavaria’s value chain.

In Honduras a memorandum of understanding has been signed by Cerverceria Hondurena and WWF, agreeing to work together to protect the different water basins which drain into the Mesoamerican Reef in Honduras. Works has already started different NGOs to protect the different water basins at the Merendon Mountain Range which supplies over 80% of the water to San Pedro Sula. The initial focus will be the protection of the basins by reforestation of the affected areas. Also as part of the agreement, WWF is working with Cerveceria Hondurena and Coca Cola to implement the Water Efficiency Toolkit at both the soft drink and beer plants.

SABMiller also has active local water projects with The Nature Conservancy in Colombia and through its joint venture MillerCoors in the United States.

Enquiries:

SABMiller PLC
Bianca Shevlin, Corporate Relations Manager
T: +44 20 7659 0172

WWF Int’l
Robin Clegg, Senior Press Officer
T: +44 7771 818707