Warwickshire’s Purity Brewing Company has been named best green business at the 2020 SIBA Business Awards, held at BeerX in Liverpool.
Purity was founded in 2005 by friends Paul Halsey and James Minkin, who set about to build a brewing business with sustainability at the heart of what they do. They have been brewing with the same ethos — ‘crafted with a conscience’ — for the last 15 years.
Not only are the brewery practices designed to be environmentally friendly, they are, where possible, environmentally enriching, as is the case with its unique wetland system, where waste water is filtered and returned clean to the River Avon.
While most brewers use between eight and five pints of water to brew one pint of beer, Purity has reduced this to 2.8 through the use of heat exchange and steam capture technologies.
The new brewing system, installed in 2013, has also allowed Purity to increase the yield derived from its raw brewing ingredients and, as such, the brewery has seen yields of malts and hops increase, reducing both its demands on natural resources and its carbon footprint, thanks to its efficient brewing processes.
Other initiatives include spent grains used as feed for the cattle on local farms, and spent hops used as fertilizer. As a brewer brewing round the clock, Purity generates around 30 tonnes of spent grain a week. This is recycled as cattle feed for the longhorn cows, who share the farm (inspiring Longhorn IPA), while the remainder is sent to other local neighbours as cattle feed.
Purity generates one tonne of spent hops a week, and with their high moisture retention and nitrogen
values, these are sent to local farmers for compost and fertiliser, while spent yeast is sent to local farmers for pig feed.
SIBA judges were blown away by the brewery’s strong ethical stance and continued commitment to sustainability, and how it has pushed boundaries in the last 12 months. With the introduction of hybrid company vehicles for the business’s sales force, Purity is committed to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
The judges also were impressed with how Purity has challenged its suppliers and partners on how they can enhance their own sustainable credentials. This has included working with both Aston Villa FC and Wasps Rugby on eco cups, and with major festivals such as 2000 Trees, Moseley Folk and Arts, and Shambala festivals on offsetting carbon emissions and reducing food and drink miles for revellers.
No stranger to winning awards for its eco credentials, Purity has previously been named Insider Magazine sustainable manufacturer in 2015, being highly commended in 2016.
Purity co-founder and chief executive, Paul Halsey, said: “We are incredibly proud and delighted to be named the best green business by SIBA. Ever since our inception and those initial discussions with Jim (my business partner), we always wanted to create something that had strong ethical and sustainable values.
“To see these still ring true today, and recognise how we have grown over the last 15 years, is something we are all incredibly proud of. Not one to rest on our laurels, we’ll continue to work with our suppliers and like- minded partners to ensure sustainability stays at the forefront of what we do.
“We couldn’t have won this award without the whole Purity team believing in our core values and investing heart and soul into the Pure Eco mantra, and I must also thank our customers for their continued support.”
