Australian breweries cut emissions with solar, reusable kegs and algae feeds
Bodriggy, Young Henrys and other Australian breweries are using renewable energy and circular systems to make beer more sustainable.
Australians consume 69 million litres of beer yearly and throw away about 17 billion bottles and cans, with fewer than half recycled. Bodriggy in Melbourne became carbon neutral and is now cutting emissions by 30% more by 2030 through reusable keg lids and a grain silo to reduce deliveries.
Young Henrys in Sydney installed 30kW of solar in 2016. Now the brewery captures carbon dioxide from fermentation in bioreactors where algae absorbs the gas.
The algae is then mixed with brewery byproducts to create feed for livestock. Adelaide University researchers are working with Coopers to test barley strains that dry faster.
This cuts energy use in the malting process. A senior brewer at Bodriggy says sustainable brewing is the future and consumer demand could push more breweries to follow.
- 69 million litres
- Annual beer consumption
- 17 billion
- Bottles and cans discarded yearly
- 30kW
- Young Henrys solar capacity
- 30% by 2030
- Bodriggy emissions reduction target
Why it mattersAustralians can buy beers with lower environmental cost, and choosing them signals to breweries that sustainable practices matter.
AustraliaAs Australia faces pressure on household budgets and environmental goals, local breweries are proving that sustainable production can work at scale without making beer unaffordable.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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