298-megawatt Thunder Ranch wind farm in Oklahoma
Everyone is aware talking through important events is best done in a relaxing manner, or over a beer!. Climate change is currently a subject driving headlines in a variety of publications, not to say the object of ongoing research, and most everybody understands that running on fossil fuels can accelerate global warming beyond safe levels. But what does beer have to do with the weather?
Brian Perkins, global vice president at Budweiser told Reuters, “We’ve talked to beer drinkers in multiple countries—they roundly agree that climate change is a big issue,”.
So how refreshing is news that a countrywide consumer product, such as Budweiser, can be made with 100 percent clean energy?
As one of the U.S. beer brands from AB InBev, the world’s largest beer producer, Budweiser is switching all its U.S. brewing to renewable electricity, in line with InBev’s announcement last March to shift from fossil fuels to clean energy as its electricity source by 2025. The beer-making corporation includes as many as 35 brands among which stand out Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, Natural Light, Busch, Michelob Ultra, Shock Top and Goose Island.
By being the head of the spear for a brewer fight against global warming, the US with its Budweiser leading brand will be making a sizeable contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road every year. The electricity is to come from Enel Green Power’s 298-megawatt Thunder Ranch wind farm in Oklahoma, the company said.
“And that’s just the beginning,” Brian Perkins, global vice president at Budweiser, said. “There’s a solar field in Texas coming online in the next couple of years, as well as more similar infrastructure and deals happening in some of the bigger countries where we operate.”
The label, according to its commitment of turning to 100 percent clean energy, is promoting the use by other beer-makers of its newly created symbol for using 100 percent renewable electricity.
“We know that climate change is an important issue for consumers. However, they aren’t sure how their everyday actions can make a difference. The renewable electricity symbol helps consumers make smarter everyday choices that can have a positive, meaningful impact,” Perkins said.
With this major change in energy policy, Budweiser expects to revert its recent trend downward, as it is currently in fourth place in sales behind No. 1 Bud Light and No. 2 Coors and No. 3 Miller Lite.
[Via EcoWatch]
