It's the yeast we can do: Untapping Sustainability Trends in Australian Craft Breweries

Abstract

Beer is a product with a simple core recipe: malt, yeast, hops and water. The transformation of these ingredients in varying proportions and application of varying brewing techniques into alcoholic beverage represents a multi–million dollar beer industry. The entry of craft beers into the industry has further expanded the range of beer styles available in the market. In Australia alone, the beer industry produced more than 18 million hectolitres in 2015, generating more than AUD$4.8 billion in revenue. While the overall consumption of beer in Australia is decreasing, the craft beer industry has achieved double–digit growth rates over the last five years (IBISWorld, 2015). In general, beer is perceived as a sustainable product as the main ingredients are naturally and organically produced (Schaltegger, Viere & Zvezdov, 2012). However, the impressive volume of beer production and consumption in Australia and elsewhere comes at a cost. It employs a brewing process that is very water and energy–intensive, thereby leaving a relatively large carbon footprint on the environment through contamination of nearby soil and water bodies, and emission of anthropogenic gases in the air (Fish, 2015). From an academic perspective, very limited research on sustainability in entrepreneurial craft breweries has been undertaken and is mostly US–centric. As far as the authors are aware, no other study has been undertaken to date that explores sustainability practices in craft breweries in Australia. This paper explores sustainability activities in the craft beer industry using a qualitative research approach based on secondary data and examines current practices to improve the environmental sustainability performance.