Welsh craft brewer Drop Bear Beer Co. has just become the world’s first certified carbon neutral alcohol-free brewer, bolstering the business’ commitment to combatting climate change.
From day one, the burgeoning brewer has taken measures to reduce its carbon footprint, and it is now celebrating its unique position within the brewing sector.
According to the Paris Agreement, calculating, reducing and offsetting CO2 emissions are crucial steps in tackling climate change.
Drop Bear’s official designation as carbon neutral follows extensive work by the award-winning business to achieve carbon neutrality for the company and its beers.
This has been achieved by compensating for CO2 emissions through supporting international, certified carbon offset projects facilitated by ClimatePartner. An example is a clean wind energy project in north east Brazil to implement and operate 14 wind power plants with various social benefits for Brazilian communities.
Since its formation in Swansea in 2019, the company’s founders – Joelle Drummond and Sarah McNena – have striven to build a business with sustainability and climate change awareness as its bedrock, meaning consumers no longer need to compromise on quality or values.
From the outset, the pair’s strong ethical values and commitment to the environment and climate change have been at the heart of their business ethos while building a major national and international award-winning alcohol-free craft beer brand.
The announcement of the company’s carbon neutral status comes hot on the heels of Drop Bear being named ‘Green Start Up of the Year’ at the Wales Start Up Awards 2022. At the Awards, which were held last week, Drop Bear was also named overall ‘Wales Start Up of the Year’, along with ‘Swansea Bay Start Up of the Year’, and ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’.
Joelle said,
“Drop Bear takes its responsibility to the environment very seriously and achieving carbon neutrality is the latest milestone towards which we’ve been working for years. This third party accreditation also reassures customers that we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Now comes the time for real innovation as we work to reduce our carbon footprint at production stage and reduce reliance on carbon offsetting.”
Drop Bear’s activities will continue to be monitored by ClimatePartner, with annual Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) and Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) reports on the business’ targets.
On a mission to brew ‘the best 0.5% ABV craft beers and build a better world in which to drink them’, Drop Bear’s carbon neutrality comes eight months after becoming Wales’ first B Corporation®️ brewery.
A Living Wage company, Drop Bear’s B Corp™️ designation has put it among an elite group of environmentally, ethically, and socially focused UK food and drink businesses.
The company’s environmental endeavours and entrepreneurship were also recognised at last month’s Wales Business Awards 2022. Drop Bear received the ‘Green Business of the Year’ award at the event, and Joelle was named ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’.
Earlier this year, Drop Bear announced its plan to build a bespoke brewery on a farm near Abergavenny. If the company’s building plans are realised, then Monmouthshire will become home to the world’s first carbon neutral alcohol-free brewery.
Joelle said,
“Our proposed brewery in Abergavenny is key for this next, exciting stage of our sustainability journey as we take matters into our own hands. The nature of this site means that we would be able to implement innovative technologies to reduce energy use, increase efficiencies, reduce waste, reduce food miles, derive power from on-site solar panels, and explore closed loop systems etc.
“Now that we have completed our analyses, we know where the most impactful changes can be made and frankly we can’t wait to get stuck in and continue to lead the way for ‘green’ drinks production in Wales.”
Drop Bear’s range appeals to a wide variety of customers worldwide and prides itself on creating accessible beer for everyone, ensuring their beers are vegan friendly, gluten-free, and low calorie, all whilst creating award-winning flavours.
Available through a growing range of stockists, the company recently achieved a listing to supply Tesco stores in Wales. At the same time, Drop Bear has continued to expand its international customer base with the addition of outlets in Hong Kong and Finland.
