BRUSSELS, 25 August 2012: At the start of the World Water Week The Brewers of Europe launches an online operational water source tool library which addresses the diversity in approaches to sustainable water management by providing clarity on the current most applicable and relevant water stress identification and assessment tools and methodologies for the brewing sector.
Water scarcity and quality is an increasingly urgent and politically sensitive issue and is of immediate relevance to the brewing sector given its water-intensive nature, its reliance on water-intensive raw materials and the fact that breweries might operate in water-stressed regions.
The brewing sector has taken a number of actions in managing water within their operations. From a water use ratio perspective, an enormous amount of progress has been made to brew more beer with less water(1). This has been driven to improve both internal efficiencies and hence costs as well as responding to a broader concern around the sustainability of water usage.
It is equally important to ensure that individual brewers understand that water management requires a holistic approach that considers not only on-site water consumption and wastewater treatment but also issues around water availability or supply risk. The on-line library contains a description of various state of the art tools and methodologies that focus on assessing water vulnerability and associated risk. The purpose is to equip the brewing sector with the knowledge and understanding of the approaches taken by the various instruments. The library does not, though, assess effectiveness of the tools to assess risks.
The library has been developed by Environment Resources Management (ERM) at the request of The Brewers of Europe.
To download the library click here.
Contact
The Brewers of Europe: info@brewersofeurope.org
About The Brewers of Europe
For more than a half century The Brewers of Europe has been the Brussels-based voice of the European brewing sector towards the European institutions and international organisations. Founded in 1958, it has 28 members, comprising 24 national brewer associations from the EU, Croatia, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
http://www.brewersofeurope.org/
Environmental Resources Management (ERM)
ERM is a leading global provider of sustainability consulting services. We deliver pioneering solutions for leading business and government clients, assisting them in managing their environmental and health related risks. ERM has over 140 offices in 40 countries and employs over 4000 people committed to providing a service that is consistently of the highest quality. http://www.erm.com
(1) See The Environmental Performance of the European Brewing Sector