The New Belgium Brewing Company

The new Belgium Brewing Company out of Fort Collins Colorado is one of the most environmentally conscientious companies currently operating in the United States. Their mission statement located on the company's website shows exactly where their focus is: "to operate a profitable company which is socially, ethically and environmentally responsible, that produces high quality beer true to Belgian brewing styles." Further illustrating their dedication to social responsibility is a story from early in the company's history. The story highlights a key event showing how important it felt respecting the environment was and is for everyone at New Belgium. In the 1990s, the owners recognized that the companies impact on the environment would increase
as the company grew. "One option that emerged, though, was a wind farm in the nearby state of Wyoming. The problem was that the wind farm needed capital to expand and the utility company didn’t think its other customers would agree to a rate hike to help fund it." To pay for the wind farm the company would have to use funds that had been earmarked for employee bonuses as the company was completely owned by the employees. The owners brought the issue to the employees and left the decision in their hands. The results were a unanimously in favor of the money being used for drawing power from a renewable source. This was a shaping moment in the companies culture. (Dahl, 2015) On their website the New Belgium Brewing Company address three current environment issues: Water conservation, Waste reduction, and reduction in Green House emissions.
"Through philanthropy and advocacy, we strive to support the great work that others are doing to protect and restore the waterways we depend upon to brew beer in Colorado and North Carolina. Here's a few of the organizations we engage with." (www.newbelgium.com, n.d.) Water conservation is a metric which continually challenges the company, the hoppier beers in our portfolio, a larger variety of beers overall, and a demand for more bottles than kegs have all kept the water use ratio hovering around 4:1 in recent years. NBB is working hard to reverse that trend, however, and have identified some key projects to implement in the coming years as the companies strive toward a 2020 goal of 3.5:1 ratio. In regards to waste reduction NBB has successfully diverted 99.8 to 99.9% of their waste from the landfill, and are a Platinum certified Zero Waste Business. They are constantly looking at ways to close loops and eliminate waste generated in the first place. Trying to base the plan on a natural ecosystems, one creature’s waste is another’s food. They are working hard to divert, reuse or eliminate waste whenever they can. These practices help to minimize ecosystem damage from resource extraction and aid in preserving our ecosystems for future
generations. HBB is attempting to get a better idea of where they are releasing Green House Gases at the brewery, and in what quantities, so they can find opportunities to decrease the emissions. By following globally accepted guidelines (WRI’s GHG Protocol and BIER’s Beverage Sector Guidance) for their Green House Gas Accounting, they have estimates for the total emissions associated with making and delivering their beer. (www.newbelgium.com, n.d.) "Through our conversation we identified the areas we wanted to focus on: water stewardship, carbon and climate change, waste, and, also very importantly, advocacy. When we looked at the possibilities at the time, we thought, “Even if we became a net-zero brewery in water use, waste, and energy, would the world be so much better off?” While we are the third-largest craft brewery in the country, we are still a small player on the scene. And that’s when the value of our brand became very apparent to us. We realized we could use our brand awareness to turn the little splash we create when we operate according to our values into a ripple, raising awareness around the issues, and highlighting what people can do to tackle those issues." (Withall, 2014) The New Belgium Brewing companies focus on social responsibility provides a key competitive advantage for the company. Colorado is a Mecca for green business and environmentally conscious people. "At New Belgium Brewing, that kind of sustainable thinking has been woven right into its corporate DNA. The brewery’s co-founders, Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan, were avid cyclists who encouraged their employees to commute to work on their bikes as a way to cut back on emissions and fuel consumption. They also made environmental stewardship one of the company’s core values. Over the years, the company has also made it a priority to give back to organizations working to protect the environment." (Dahl, 2015) All of this has led to a large competitive advantage in the beer industry as has been highlighted by the companies continued growth and innovation. There will always be a segment of society that contends companies that sell alcoholic beverages or tobacco products cannot be socially responsible because of the nature of their primary products. Almost a century has gone by since the age of prohibition within the United States. When used in a responsible manner alcohol is not evil and the companies that produce it are able to make both ethical and socially responsible decisions.

REFERENCES:
O.C.
Ferrell, John Fraedrich, Linda Ferrell. (2015). Business Ethics: Ethical decisions Making and Cases (10th ed) Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. www.newbelgium.com. (n.d.). Environmental-Metrics. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://www.newbelgium.com/Sustainability/Environmental-Metrics
Darren Dahl. (December 15, 2015).Why New Belgium Brewing's Employees Once Turned Down A Bonus To Invest In Wind Power Instead. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrendahl/2015/12/15/why-new-belgium-brewings-employees-once-turned-down-a-bonus-to-invest-in-wind-power-instead/#5621b9265f69
David Wann. (n.d). Brewing a Sustainable Industry: New Belgium Brewing Company Aims for Zero Emissions. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://www.terrain.org/articles/9/wann.htm
Ryan Withall. (April 2, 2014) A Splash of Beer, A Ripple of Awareness: Sustainability at New Belgium Brewing. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/leadership/ryan_withall/splash_beer_ripple_awareness_sustainability_new_belgium_brewi