Pioneering keg rental firm Konvoy has joined forces with Net Zero Now, the climate action platform, to help reduce the carbon footprint of the UK’s brewing industry.
The collaboration, which officially launches at the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) flagship event BeerX this week, will help breweries take steps to understand and address their greenhouse gas emissions.
It will enable the £7bn UK brewing industry and £130bn hospitality industry (the UK’s third-largest employer) to get a head start in meeting the government’s commitment of becoming Net Zero by 2050.
Konvoy already offers one of the world’s most sustainable rental keg fleets, as kegs are fitted with advanced IoT-enabled tracking devices. The devices, which can also be fitted to existing fleets, create visibility of location, temperature, and motion events that the industry has never had before, helping draught beverages become more efficient, effective, circular, and sustainable.
Now, Konvoy’s customers will also receive free access to Net Zero Now’s Brewery Initiative, an industry-first digital tool that guides breweries through the process of calculating, tracking, and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions using tailored reduction plans.
Brewers who successfully set targets and reduce their emissions accordingly will receive certification to share with their employees and customers.
Both Konvoy and Net Zero Now are on a mission to use the latest digital technology to create transparency of data and insights that can help address the environmental impact of the brewing industry and help breweries unlock the multiple business benefits associated with becoming Net Zero.
It’s estimated that global keg losses cost the industry up to $500m annually, and the new partnership will help brewers measure and reduce the vast impact of lost and inactive kegs. and improve the speed of re-use of kegs through combined digital technologies. This will help breweries address their ‘scope 3’ carbon emissions — those which occur up and down the value chain.
“Studies show that 73% of consumers would definitely, or probably, change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment, and this will happen at the bar,” said Christian Barden, chief executive, UK and Europe, at Konvoy.
“We have to appreciate that drinkers will start to expect, maybe even demand, their favourite brands are Net Zero in hospitality, too. That doesn’t just mean that those brands come from re-usable formats, such as glasses, taps, lines, kegs, and logistics, but actually from the most re-used formats, with the evidence to back it up.
“We’re very excited to launch our collaboration with Net Zero Now, with our shared values about people, planet and prosperity, and real sense of purpose in what we do.”
He added: “Technology helping visibility is an enabler for quality, circularity, sustainability and a world of net zero. If 76% of millennials consider a company’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) commitments before they decide where to work, then I’d like to be high on their list of choices as we build Konvoy and our partnership with the Net Zero Now team.”
Andrew Furness, sector lead breweries, at Net Zero Now, said:“We launched The Net Zero Brewery Initiative in 2022 and have been working with breweries across the country who are keen to be at the forefront of a more sustainable sector. We expect to have our first certified on-the-road brewery by the end of this month, with more in the coming months.
“Having a dynamic, forward-looking industry partner like Konvoy will help us bring more breweries into the movement, and help those breweries benefit from the commercial opportunities the Net Zero journey offers — from cost and energy efficiencies, through to customer attraction and staff retention.”
