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Audit-Ready Carbon Reporting for Alcoholic Beverages

Track brewery and distillery energy, agricultural inputs, glass packaging, and cold chain refrigeration for beer, wine, and spirits production.

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The Industry Hotspot: Glass Packaging and Agricultural Inputs

Packaging dominates lifecycle carbon

Alcoholic beverage carbon footprints concentrate in packaging and upstream agriculture. Glass bottles represent substantial embodied energy from raw material extraction, melting furnaces, and forming processes. Lightweight bottles and recycled glass content reduce packaging footprint. Agricultural inputs including barley, hops, grapes, and corn generate farm-level emissions from fertilizers and farming operations. Brewery and distillery operations consume natural gas or steam for brewing kettles, distillation columns, and pasteurization. Refrigeration throughout cold chain from production through retail adds hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant leakage. NetNada tracks packaging material weights and recycled content, calculates agricultural supply chain emissions, monitors facility thermal energy, and reports refrigerant losses.

SASB Industry Definition

The Alcoholic Beverages industry produces beer, wine, and spirits from agricultural inputs including barley, hops, grapes, corn, and sugarcane. Production includes malting, brewing or fermentation, distillation, aging, bottling, and distribution through wholesale and retail channels. Breweries and distilleries consume significant thermal energy for brewing, distillation, and pasteurization. Glass bottles dominate packaging mass and carbon footprint. Cold chain distribution adds refrigerant leakage and refrigeration energy.

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Industry-Specific Carbon Accounting

No generic solutions. Metrics, data sources, and reporting aligned to Alcoholic Beverages operations.

Glass Packaging Carbon Footprint

Glass bottles dominate packaging mass in beer, wine, and spirits. Virgin glass production requires high-temperature melting of silica, soda ash, and limestone. Lightweight bottle design reduces material per unit while maintaining functionality. Recycled glass content lowers melting energy requirements. Track packaging weight per hectoliter, recycled content percentage, and returnable bottle systems. Calculate packaging emissions as major component of product carbon footprint.

Packaging emissions per hectoliter

Brewery Thermal Energy Consumption

Brewing process requires thermal energy for mashing, boiling wort in brew kettles, and pasteurization. Natural gas boilers or steam generation supply process heat. Wort boiling concentrates largest energy demand. Track fuel consumption per hectoliter beer produced. Implement heat recovery from wort cooling and pasteurization. Benchmark energy intensity across facilities to identify high consumers.

Thermal energy per hectoliter

Agricultural Ingredient Emissions

Barley for beer, grapes for wine, corn for spirits generate upstream farm emissions from fertilizers, irrigation, and farm equipment. Hops cultivation requires trellising and processing. Sugar for fermentation may come from cane or beet with different carbon intensities. Collect supplier farm data on agricultural practices or apply regional emission averages. Calculate ingredient footprint per hectoliter final product.

Agricultural emissions tracked

Distillery Energy and Co-Products

Distillation separates alcohol from fermented mash using heat-intensive column distillation. Spirits production requires higher energy input than beer due to distillation step. Distillery co-products including spent grains and stillage can be used as animal feed or biogas feedstock. Track energy per liter alcohol produced. Report co-product utilization avoiding disposal emissions and displacing conventional animal feed production.

Distillation energy per liter

Cold Chain Refrigeration Management

Beer and certain wines require refrigerated storage and transport to maintain quality. Cold chain operations use hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants with very high global warming potential. Regular equipment maintenance and leak detection reduce refrigerant losses. Track refrigerant type, charge quantities, and annual leakage rates. Transition to lower-warming-potential alternatives where commercially available.

Refrigerant leakage rate

SASB FB-AB Metrics Automation

Auto-generate disclosure including gross Scope 1 and 2 emissions, energy consumption, water consumption intensity, percentage of ingredients from sustainable sources, and packaging material mix. Footnotes cite production volumes by beverage category and key sourcing regions.

SASB FB-AB compliant

Product Features for Alcoholic Beverages

Use Carbon Data Uploader to import brewery energy bills, packaging material data, agricultural sourcing records, and production volumes for automated beverage emissions calculation. Learn more →

The Activity Calculator applies emission factors for glass, aluminum, agricultural inputs, and thermal energy—calculating comprehensive alcoholic beverage product carbon footprints. Learn more →

Related Solutions

See our Carbon Accounting solution for end-to-end alcoholic beverage emissions tracking from agricultural supply chains through production and distribution.

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Alcoholic Beverages Case Studies

How entities in this industry use NetNada to solve carbon accounting challenges.

International Brewing Company (Portfolio of beer brands, Breweries across multiple regions)

Challenge

Retail customers required product carbon footprints for all supplied products. Packaging represented majority of lifecycle emissions but data fragmented across glass and aluminum suppliers. Agricultural inputs from barley and hops needed Scope 3 Category 1 quantification.

Solution

Established carbon accounting system aggregating packaging supplier data on material weights and recycled content. Calculated packaging footprint per hectoliter by brand and package format. Surveyed barley and hops suppliers on farming practices and fertilizer use. Tracked brewery energy per hectoliter across production network.

Result

Generated product-level carbon footprints for entire brand portfolio. Identified lightweight glass and increased recycled content as highest-impact reduction opportunities. Implemented aluminum can lightweighting reducing material per unit. Launched sustainably-sourced barley program with contracted farmers adopting reduced fertilizer practices. Published carbon footprint reduction trajectory showing progress toward corporate targets.

Wine Producer (Estate vineyards and processing, Multiple varietals, Export markets)

Challenge

European importers requested wine carbon footprints to comply with product environmental footprint labeling. Needed vineyard-level emissions data for estate grapes and purchased fruit. Glass bottle weight drove packaging footprint but lightweight options raised quality perception concerns.

Solution

Implemented vineyard carbon accounting tracking fertilizer use, diesel for tractors and sprayers, and irrigation energy. Calculated emissions per tonne grapes by vineyard block and farming practice. Monitored winery electricity and refrigeration. Tested lightweight bottle formats with consumer acceptance research.

Result

Achieved vineyard emission baseline showing variation by block and vintage. Launched precision viticulture program optimizing fertilizer application reducing nitrogen use. Introduced lightweight bottle for value tier wines reducing packaging emissions. Published Environmental Product Declaration for flagship wines supporting export to carbon-conscious markets. Premium tier maintained traditional bottle weight after consumer research indicated quality concerns.

SASB Disclosure Topics for Alcoholic Beverages

Material sustainability topics beyond emissions that investors and stakeholders expect disclosed per SASB standards.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

environment

Track Scope 1 from brewery/distillery fuel combustion and refrigerant leakage. Report Scope 2 from electricity. Calculate Scope 3 from packaging materials (glass, aluminum, cardboard), agricultural ingredients, and distribution. Report emissions per hectoliter produced.

Water Management

environment

Monitor water consumption for brewing, distillation, cleaning, and cooling. Track water-to-beer or water-to-spirits ratios. Report wastewater discharge quality and treatment. Disclose operations in water-stressed regions.

Packaging Lifecycle Management

environment

Report packaging material mix (glass, aluminum, PET, cardboard). Disclose recycled content percentage and lightweight packaging initiatives. Track packaging recovery and recycling rates in key markets.

Sustainable Sourcing

social

Track percentage of agricultural inputs from certified sustainable sources (organic hops, regenerative barley, sustainable grapes). Disclose supplier sustainability audits and farmer support programs.

Responsible Consumption

social

Report marketing expenditures on responsible drinking campaigns. Disclose low-alcohol and alcohol-free product development. Track underage drinking prevention programs.

Energy Management and Renewable Energy

business model

Monitor brewery and distillery energy intensity trends. Report percentage of renewable energy in operations. Disclose waste heat recovery and cogeneration systems deployed.

NetNada tracks all SASB material topics, not just emissions. Our platform supports disclosure across environmental, social, governance, and business model topics relevant to your industry.

Alcoholic Beverages FAQs

Common questions about carbon accounting for this industry

How do glass bottles and aluminum cans compare for beverage packaging carbon footprint?
Glass and aluminum have different carbon profiles depending on recycled content and transportation distance. Virgin glass production requires high-temperature melting with significant energy input. Recycled glass reduces energy requirements but glass remains heavy increasing transport emissions. Virgin aluminum production is very energy-intensive but aluminum has high recycling rates and recycled aluminum requires substantially lower energy. For equivalent volumes: Aluminum cans with high recycled content often have lower footprint than glass bottles especially over longer distribution distances. Returnable glass bottle systems with local distribution can achieve low footprint through multiple reuse cycles. Report packaging mix, recycled content, and lightweight initiatives.
What are the primary emission sources in beer production?
Beer lifecycle emissions concentrate in several areas: Packaging materials dominate total footprint particularly glass bottles. Agricultural ingredients including barley and hops generate upstream farm emissions from fertilizers. Brewing thermal energy for mashing, boiling, and pasteurization consumes natural gas or biomass. Refrigeration throughout cold chain from brewery through retail distribution. Transportation of packaged product to customers. Relative contribution varies by package format and distribution distance. Aluminum cans and local distribution shift footprint toward agricultural and brewing operations. Glass bottles and long-distance transport increase packaging and logistics contribution.
Should wine producers include vineyard emissions in their carbon footprint?
Yes, Scope 3 Category 1 (Purchased Goods) for wine producers includes grape growing emissions whether from estate vineyards (operational control but agricultural emissions) or purchased grapes. Vineyard emissions include: Fertilizers applied to vines generating field emissions. Diesel for tractors, sprayers, and harvest equipment. Electricity for irrigation pumps in water-limited regions. Frost protection using wind machines or heaters. For estate vineyards under operational control, some companies report viticulture emissions as Scope 1 if directly operating farming equipment. Most classify agricultural emissions as Scope 3 Category 1 for consistency. Report vineyard emissions separately from winery operations to show full value chain impact.
How do breweries reduce energy consumption in the brewing process?
Brewery energy efficiency opportunities include: Wort boiling optimization reducing boil duration or intensity while maintaining quality. Heat recovery from wort cooling and pasteurization capturing waste heat for pre-heating incoming water. Cogeneration systems using natural gas to generate electricity with waste heat for brewing. Refrigeration efficiency through optimized compressor sequencing and free cooling during cold ambient conditions. Caustic and water recovery systems reducing heating loads for cleaning. On-site renewable energy from solar or biogas from wastewater treatment. Track energy per hectoliter across facility portfolio. Older breweries often have higher intensity offering retrofit opportunities.
Can distilleries use spent grains and stillage to reduce net emissions?
Yes, distillery co-products offer emission reduction through avoided disposal and displacing conventional products. Spent grains remaining after fermentation contain protein and fiber valuable as animal feed. Selling spent grains to livestock operations displaces conventional feed production avoiding associated agricultural emissions. Stillage from distillation can be processed into animal feed or digested to produce biogas. Biogas combustion generates renewable energy for distillery thermal needs displacing natural gas. Co-product utilization requires proximate markets and processing infrastructure. Calculate avoided emissions from displacing conventional feed or energy. Report percentage of co-products beneficially used versus disposed.

Track Brewery, Distillery, and Supply Chain Emissions

See how beverage producers calculate packaging footprints, monitor production energy, and generate SASB-aligned disclosures—automated from operations and supplier data.

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