International Business Environment
1. What environmental issues does the New Belgium Brewing Company work to address? How has NBB taken a strategic approach to addressing these issues? Why do you think the company has chosen to focus on environmental issues?
New Belgium Brewing strives to reduce negative impact on the natural environment through cost-efficient energy-saving alternatives. New Belgium Brewing commissioned a study found that their largest amount of carbon dioxide actually came from the coal-fuelled power plant that supplied the brewery with electricity. With that in hand, New Belgium Brewing have invested in a wind turbine, making it the first fully wind powered brewery in the United States. By so doing, it has greatly reduced carbon dioxide emission which is associated with serious global warming and air pollution which affects the normal lifestyle of people in the immediate environment and aggregately throughout the world. New Belgium Brewing has also invested in a mist condenser that helps to reuse the hot water that was used for boiling barley and hops in a previous brewing process to start the next brew. This steam also helps to heat the floor tiles and de-ice the loading docks during winter. New Belgium Brewing has also many other energy saving processes, for example, use of daylight. It has incorporated the use of sun tubes that help light up the brew house with natural daylight. New Belgium Brewing Company has chosen to focus on the environment because the type of business they are in, which uses barley and oats, is greatly affected by climatic conditions and also their products are packaged in a way that if littering would permit, it would destroy the image of the environment.
2. Are New Belgium’s social initiatives indicative of strategic philanthropy? Why or why not?
Many businesses already engage in basic forms of philanthropy. Strategic philanthropy focuses on change and builds for the future through which companies align charitable activities such as donations and
New Belgium Brewing strives to reduce negative impact on the natural environment through cost-efficient energy-saving alternatives. New Belgium Brewing commissioned a study found that their largest amount of carbon dioxide actually came from the coal-fuelled power plant that supplied the brewery with electricity. With that in hand, New Belgium Brewing have invested in a wind turbine, making it the first fully wind powered brewery in the United States. By so doing, it has greatly reduced carbon dioxide emission which is associated with serious global warming and air pollution which affects the normal lifestyle of people in the immediate environment and aggregately throughout the world. New Belgium Brewing has also invested in a mist condenser that helps to reuse the hot water that was used for boiling barley and hops in a previous brewing process to start the next brew. This steam also helps to heat the floor tiles and de-ice the loading docks during winter. New Belgium Brewing has also many other energy saving processes, for example, use of daylight. It has incorporated the use of sun tubes that help light up the brew house with natural daylight. New Belgium Brewing Company has chosen to focus on the environment because the type of business they are in, which uses barley and oats, is greatly affected by climatic conditions and also their products are packaged in a way that if littering would permit, it would destroy the image of the environment.
2. Are New Belgium’s social initiatives indicative of strategic philanthropy? Why or why not?
Many businesses already engage in basic forms of philanthropy. Strategic philanthropy focuses on change and builds for the future through which companies align charitable activities such as donations and