Beer and Chocolate Bars Going Green

Pizza, cornflakes, mineral water, chocolate... the list of products coming from the world's largest food group, Nestlé, is long. In the future, five production sites in southeastern Pennsylvania will be operated with wind energy. That's how the Group is continuing their strategy of converting the production to clean energy and ensuring greater sustainability.

A PPA between EDP Renewables and Nestlé includes that for the next 15 years the Meadow Lake VI wind farm will supply 50 megawatts of its capacity to Nestlé's production sites running with 80 percent green electricity then.

"Our partnership with EDP Renewables propels us forward in our ambition to create zero environmental impact by 2030, and is another example of our business transformation journey," said Kevin Petrie, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Nestlé USA. "This power purchase agreement perfectly illustrates our creating shared value strategy—that we create value for our business through contributing to a healthier future for the planet."

It remains to be seen whether the company's food will actually be suitable for securing a healthier future for people, but it is progress if at least their production has less negative effects.

Image: Nestlé

The same applies to Heineken, the world's second-largest brewery group. In the Netherlands they presented a program called 'Drop the C' this week. The idea behind it is to reduce CO2 emissions for their beer production, i. e. to reduce the C from CO2 so that only O2 (oxygen) is left, as the group explains in a press release.

By 2030, the share of renewable energies in production is to be increased from the current 14 percent to 70 percent. To do so, the focus is on renewable thermal energy and electricity. Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO of Heineken, explains why the time has come: "With all the good progress made in reducing our CO2 emissions, now is the right time to set ourselves new targets. When I visit our breweries I want to see that we are brewing with real green energy and that we are not achieving our reduction targets by buying unbundled certificates."

Geographic is a challenge, as Heineken is present in more than 70 countries and renewable energies are not available in all regions. In some countries it is all the easier. The brewery in Massafra, Italy, with an output of 3.3 MW, is one of the largest solar breweries in the world. Göss-Brauerei in Austria, on the other hand, is climate-neutral. Meanwhile, Heineken brews with solar energy in Singapore and uses wind and solar energy in the Netherlands. Currently, 29 percent of the company's worldwide electricity consumption is renewable.

In the area of packaging in particular, however, the company is also dependent on the help of their suppliers, who are explicitly called upon to join the green initiatives (Image above: Heineken).