Robinsons has trained 40 of its 116 head office employees in carbon literacy, with plans to have its entire central team carbon literate within a year.
The 185-year-old brewery is the first brewer and pub company to have made a commitment to becoming a carbon-literate workforce. It has a dedicated training workshop, certified by the Carbon Literacy Project.
The training has been introduced as part of the business’ net zero roadmap across its brewing, bottling, and pub estate business. It has achieved 40 certified employees and become a bronze carbon literate organisation in the first six weeks.
Carbon Literacy is defined by The Carbon Literacy Project as “an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community, and organisational basis”.
“We need to see carbon literacy embedded in every workforce, which involves breaking out of the ‘eco bubble’ of ‘green’ business and making this simply ‘business’,” said Phil Korbel, co-founder and director of advocacy at The Carbon Literacy Project.
“That’s why it’s such good news to have Robinsons as our first brewery and pub chain. Their ability to influence their landlords, supply chain, their sector, and the public is second to none, and we can’t wait to support them to take carbon literacy even further.”
Ben Robinson, director of tenanted operations and the lead on Robinsons’ sustainability project, Target Zero, said: “The course has equipped our leaders with the knowledge they need to drive positive climate action throughout our business and their teams. We have now successfully trained every department within the business at a management level, and continue to roll out the workshops to the rest of our workforce.
“We have so far engaged decision-makers who work with resourcing raw ingredients and materials, to designing pub refurbishments, to team members who influence the actions of others in their day-to-day work.”
Martyn Weeks, director of brewing and operations at Robinsons, added: “I will review the purchase and installation of a carbon dioxide recovery plant to our brewery fermentation vessels. This will collect the CO2 from our brewing fermentations which otherwise would be released to the atmosphere. The CO2 will then be used within our new brewery for carbonation of drinks.
“There will be an increase in our electricity usage, but as we only purchase green electricity, this will not impact the carbon footprint of the site. The real benefit will be that we will reduce our use of imported CO2, which is currently made as a by-product of ammonia fertiliser production.”
