How Beer Brands Are Reducing Packaging Waste

Consumers around the world are looking for more environmentally friendly options in
almost everything they buy, even beer. In fact, a 2018 survey of over 1,000 US beer
drinkers found that 59% said they would pay more for sustainably produced beer.

The world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), aims to have all of its
packaging either returnable or made mostly from recycled materials by 2025.

Like many companies, AB InBev has been looking for more environmentally friendly
ways to hold its cans together. In early 2019, it began a trial in which it replaced the
plastic rings on cans of Corona beer sold in Mexico with rings made of plant-based
fibers. It has also been testing Corona cans that can be screwed together top-to-bottom,
though these have not been made available for sale.

AB InBev has also promised to replace the plastic rings on its Budweiser brand beer in
the UK with paper packages or cardboard tops by the end of 2020. British company
Diageo, which makes Guinness, has also begun to use cardboard packaging for its
cans instead of plastic. And Dutch brewer Heineken has announced plans to remove
plastic packaging from all of its beer and cider brands by the end of 2021.

Danish company Carlsberg has already gone a step further with its Snap Pack,
replacing packaging on beer cans by simply sticking the cans together with glue. The
company said this would save 1,200 metric tons of plastic every year when used across
all of its cans. The idea won the Best Sustainability Initiative award at the World
Beverage Innovation Awards in 2018.

Carlsberg is even looking to develop the world's first "paper" beer bottle. In 2019, it
unveiled two prototypes for its Green Fiber Bottle. Both are made from wood fiber, but
one uses a thin lining made of recycled plastic while the other uses one made of a
plant-based plastic. The company says it is also trying to develop a bottle that won't
need any plastic at all.

Discussion

1. Would you be willing to pay more for sustainably produced alcohol? Why? Why
not?
2. Do you make an effort to buy from environmentally friendly companies? Please
explain your answer.
3. Have you taken any steps to reduce your impact on the environment? Please
explain your answer.
4. Who's the most environmentally conscious person you know? Please describe
them.
5. Do you expect the issue of plastic waste to improve over the next few decades?
Why? Why not?
6. Do you drink beer? If so, what are your favorite brands? If not, what's your
favorite alcoholic drink?
7. Are most of your friends and colleagues beer drinkers? Please explain your
answer.
8. Do you have a favorite bar or pub? Why do you like going there?
9. Do you think you'd enjoy working in a brewery? Why? Why not?
10. What was the first alcoholic drink you tried? How old were you?
11. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world
around you. — Jane Goodall.
12. There is no such thing as 'away.' When we throw anything away it must go
somewhere. — Annie Leonard.