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
