Craft Brew Alliance Inc. (CBA), Portland, Ore., published its sixth Annual Sustainability Report, which highlights the company’s 2018 accomplishments in environmental and community stewardship and ongoing commitment to brewing and packaging its beers in the most sustainable way possible. For this year’s report, CBA is incorporating certain metrics using standards set forth by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), an independent organization that facilitates communication between companies and investors on the financial impacts of sustainability.

“As the seventh largest craft brewer in the U.S., we’re committed to walking the walk when it comes to sustainability,” said Julia Person, corporate sustainability manager for CBA, in a statement. “That’s why we track total CO2 emissions across our facilities and have started including SASB metrics in this year’s report. From our bio-powered Portsmouth brewery, to our new Hawaii brewery’s innovative solar solution, to our Portland brewery’s industry-leading water and energy usage intensity and our support of more than 500 local community nonprofits across the U.S., we’re proud of the work we’re doing to curb our resource usage and help brew a better planet for today and tomorrow.”

2018 CBA Sustainability Report Highlights

• The company has supported multiple carbon offset projects that offset 600 metric tons of greenhouse gases, equivalent to 10 percent of its total carbon emissions.
• It has decreased all-in electricity and gas usage across its breweries, pubs and office locations, generating 16 percent of its energy from Renewable Energy Credits and onsite solar and biopower.
• With the help of its suppliers CBA has sharpened its focus on packaging lifecycle management, arming it with data on the cans, glass, cardboard and kegs that flow through the supply chain.
• Its water usage remained well below benchmark, reflecting innovations such as the industry’s first waterless vacuum pump installed at the bottle filler in its largest owned production facility in Portland.
• CBA’s wastewater reduction efforts, which led to a 75 percent decrease in wastewater solids, earned the company the 2018 Most Valuable Prevention Award from the EPA.
• The company continued work on designing its new Kona brewery in Kailua-Kona, which will be one of the top sustainable breweries in the world when it opens in early 2020.
• It supported more than 500 nonprofits last year in the communities where members live, work and play, through in-kind donations, sponsorships, charity events, and employee volunteer efforts.