Blog Post - New Belgium Brewing
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ABOUT New Belgium Brewing
HISTORY
Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, is the third-largest craft brewer in the country. Co-Founder, Kim Jordan, a former social worker and now CEO of New Belgium, has made social responsibility an important part of the brewerys mission. Inspired by a bike trip through Belgium, New Belgium first began operations in 1991, with the vision of making world-class beers while minimizing environmental footprint.
Today, New Belgium is a craft beer leader and strives to be a business role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. In 2011, New Belgium sold nearly 700,000 barrels of beer across 28 states and the District of Columbia.
SUSTAINABILITYFrom its inception, New Belgium Brewing has sought to minimize resource consumption, maximize energy efficiency and redefine waste. In 1999, New Belgium became the countrys first brewery to subscribe to wind energy after a vote by employee owners to dip into their bonus pool to facilitate converting from conventional energy. By treating process waste water onsite, New Belgium is able to produce 15% of its total energy needs via a methane-fired cogenerator. In 2009, New Belgium implemented the largest private array of photovoltaic solar panels in Colorado; 870 panels mounted atop the bottling facility produce over 200 kW of power onsite.New Belgium has also adopted green building practices throughout the brewing facility and has incorporated innovative engineering and design throughout their operations.Clean Water is Good for Business, and for Beer!
by Jenn Vervier, Director of Strategic Development and Sustainability, New Belgium Brewing Company
At New Belgium Brewing, we not only make Fat Tire Amber Ale and about 15 other beers at one time, we also cultivate our Alternatively Empowered culture. New Belgium Brewing takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management, and a commitment to environmental stewardship. We also strive to leverage the strength of our brand when necessary to support public policy that reflects our environmental and social ethos.
Right now, we need to stand up for the Clean Water Act.
2012 is the 40th anniversary for the Clean Water Act, one of America's bedrock environmental laws that have protected Americans as well as America's waters from toxic pollution. Passed in 1972 with wide bipartisan support in Congress, the Clean Water Act has transformed our waterways across the United States, resulting in cleaner and healthier water, better fishing and swimming, healthier ecosystems, and improvements to cities' drinking water supplies.
Unfortunately, a previous presidential administration weakened Clean Water Act programs so that we cannot assume that all our water is protected. Here in Colorado, for example, the Cache la Poudre River and the Colorado River -- which are the source waters for New Belgium's beer -- are protected by the Clean Water Act, but all of the seasonal and intermittent streams in the mountains that feed into the Poudre and the Colorado are vulnerable to these "No Protection" policies.
That's why we need to speak out now to restore the protections Congress intended when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972.
In the coming weeks, President Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are expected to finalize "guidance" that starts to close these loopholes so that Colorado's seasonal mountain streams are protected. New Belgium Brewing supports this commonsense policy. We'd like to see protections restored to all rivers, lakes, and wetlands - large and small - that safeguard our drinking water and the public's health.
*This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post.
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