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
"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
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