BIER Issues Results of 2014 Water and Energy Use Benchmarking Study

Beverage Industry Continues to Drive Improvement in Water and Energy Use
Feb 12, 2015 1:30 PM ET
Campaign: Energy & Climate
At an industry level, water and energy use ratios generally decreased over the five year study period as production volume increased.

February 12, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Today the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) marks the release of select results from the 2014 benchmarking study.  In its eighth year of benchmarking, BIER recognized a number of key findings pointing to continued efforts on the part of the beverage industry to improve water and energy usage. With participation from over 1,700 facilities accross six continents representing 18 member beverage companies and one industry peer, this is the most comprehensive quantitative benchmark study of water and energy use and efficiency in the beverage industry.  

At an industry level, water and energy use ratios generally decreased over the five year study period as production volume increased (See Figures 1 and 2 Attached).  Performance improvement was also seen at the facility level: 75 percent of facilities that provided five years of data improved their water use ratio, and 58 percent improved their energy use ratio. 

“Through these ongoing benchmarking studies, the results show the beverage industry’s continued focus on transparency and leadership in resource stewardship,” says Laura Nelson, Consultant for Antea Group and BIER Benchmarking Project Manager.  “BIER’s increased member participation from leading beverage industry companies provides a robust data set that readily reflects the broad spectrum of beverage facilities in the industry; that is what makes this study so successful.”

The 2014 study reflects an amended data set – the 2009 to 2012 values previously reported in past studies have been revised in this new report and should be the referenced historic performance values moving forward.  BIER has elected to move to biennial benchmarking and hopes to move toward incorporating carbon emissions in the next benchmarking study, to be conducted in 2016.

The complete benchmarking results report is available for download at www.bieroundtable.com

About BIER
The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. BIER aims to affect sector change through work focused on water stewardship, energy efficiency and climate change, beverage container recycling, sustainable agriculture, and eco-system services. BIER members include: American Beverage Association, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bacardi, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Inc., Danone Waters, Diageo, Ecolab, Fetzer Vineyards, Heineken, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., MillerCoors, Molson Coors, New Belgium Brewing Company, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, SABMiller, SealedAir, and Sun Orchard. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com

About Antea Group
Antea Group is an international engineering and environmental consulting firm specializing in full-service solutions in the fields of environment, infrastructure, urban planning and water. With access to more than 3,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, Antea Group serves clients ranging from global energy companies and manufacturers to national governments and local municipalities. Since 2006, Antea Group has provided facilitation and technical support to the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable. For more information, visit http://www.anteagroup.com