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(Courtesy Molson Coors)
Brewing major, Molson Coors is aiming to transition its packaging to 100% re-usable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradable products by 2025.
As part of a new slate of sustainability goals Molson Coors, home to MillerCoors and an expansive roster of beer brands, has committed making all its packaging more earth-friendly according to Behind The Beer.
And it’s not like the world’s seventh largest brewer has been passive in its sustainability efforts…
“As a global brewer with a strong family heritage, we have always taken seriously our responsibility to brew a more sustainable future,” says Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter.
Key elements of the company’s overall sustainability strategy, updated annually, include capturing clean water for reuse, turning wastewater into biogas for onsite energy, sending spent grain to farmers for use as animal feed and cutting down waste sent to landfills.
Over the past decade Molson Coors has invested more than $20 million to help its barley farmers manage climate-related risks and offered farmers financial incentives to encourage the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.
And as a result of that effort, 99% of the company’s US and UK barley and hops growers now meet or exceed accepted benchmarks for sustainable growing practices.
Reducing its carbon footprint remains a key priority for Molson Coors. Since 2016, the company has reduced carbon emissions from direct operations by 16% and is one of approximately 230 companies around the world that are committed to bringing their carbon reduction targets in line with the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement.
But there’s more room for improvement,” says Kim Marotta, global senior director of sustainability and alcohol policy for Molson Coors. “We believe we have an obligation to step forward and work together to address the urgency of climate change.”
And a major focus for Molson Coors going forward is reducing and eliminating its use of plastics. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced since the 1950s, as much as 79% has ended up as waste.
“This is truly a global crisis, on land and in oceans,” Marotta says. “Global CPG companies like Molson Coors play an important role in helping solve the global plastic waste issue.”
