Maine Craft Breweries: Sustainability Benchmarking

Sustainability can have many definitions and meanings, usually derived from the same set of parameters. For Maine, sustainable practices in the brewing industry are becoming even more important as our craft breweries are continuously growing. With environmental stewardship in natural resource management in mind, the Brewers Association (BA) has created the sustainability benchmarking tool for paying members in order to help brewers track and decrease their use of natural resources. University of Southern Maine (USM) interns have collaborated with the New England Environmental Finance Center (EFC) on a grant project, sponsored by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), to connect with Maine craft breweries and engage them in the national benchmarking tool. Through an analysis of data inputs of each brewery, the BA sustainability benchmarking tool uses algorithms to show and explain the use of natural resources for the business, and then compares them to a national benchmark to show the status of their resource use. Our team compiles data inputs to enter into the benchmarking tool for Maine breweries where they are weighed against the production data of the brewery. By assisting them to evaluate the report we can help them find cost savings through source reduction, and recommend minor changes that can lead to major differences. With the acts of performing these services for Maine breweries, we are able to promote environmental stewardship for the state and sustain our limited natural resources. References: 1Maine Department of Environmental Protection. (2019). Sustainability. Retrieved from: https:// www.maine.gov/dep/sustainability/index.htm

Brewery Sustainability: Pollution Prevention Reducing Toxic Cleaners

The cleaning process and chemicals a brewer chooses vary widely from brewer to brewer and worksite to worksite; many factors contribute to the costs involved in this crucial and essential aspect of brewery operation. This is where us as Intern through the University of Southern Maine under the New England Environmental Finance Center grant project joins the process with the partnership of TURI. The Toxic Use Reduction Institute out of Lowell, Massachusetts in order to help discover less toxic cost-effective alternatives to the cleaning practices within a brewery. In this partnership, we set out to create a less toxic money efficient chemical and sanitizer. Our goal is to design a mixture that will allow brewers to get the best possible clean without harming themselves or the environment and cut back on the amount of water used. Two solutions are made, the first is a detergent called catholyte, the second is a disinfectant called anolyte. The goal of this process is to get a score of zero bacteria left in the tanks. After a few tests, we have come to the conclusion it is possible. We have gotten a level of zero, as well as half the amount of water used. This allows brewers to save money, water, and the environment one clean at a time. The financial benefit of using the ECA technology as proposed totals a saving in operational costs of $245 per month, or$2,940 per year (TURI, 2019). Costs in areas of chemicals, energy, and water use have been reduced