Happy Earth Day 2021 from all at Adnams.
The theme for Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth™, and communication is focused on the natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.
It is proposed that making improvements and modifying our behaviour is not the only way to address the issues we face. While such action is important in reducing our impact on the earth and slowing the rate of damage, it does not necessarily replenish and restore things to their original standing.
At Adnams, we are proud to support this initiative as we believe that we are all here to make a difference and by working together we can begin to restore the balance. More than 1 billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest public awareness event in the world. It is up to all of us to positively contribute, not just because we care about the planet, but because we live on it.
Living by the coast, we are inspired by it every day and see at close quarters the impact of climate change. We believe by working alongside our communities we can create a more sustainable and equal future. We have always been determined to do things better and this has helped direct us in the development of our products and services and has given us a clear focus for the future.
We have recently become a signatory to the Sustainable Market Initiative’s Terra Carta – a charter that has sustainability at its heart. It will provide a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future; one that will harness the power of nature, combined with the transformative power, innovation, and resources of the private sector.
Our own Sustainability Committee continues to meet and works closely with key academic institutions to inspire and learn more about how we can make a bigger difference. We also continue to incorporate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into our sustainable plan which gives clarity and focus to our priorities.
Andy Wood, Adnams CEO said: “Our commitment to sustainable success is unfaltering. We have invested in doing the right thing over many decades and we believe that business should be a force for good. We are incredibly proud to be signatories of the Terra Carta, which will further and champion sustainability issues over the coming years. We will do what we can to see that its commitments are adopted more widely as we all play our part in making a bigger difference and take those additional steps to restore some of the balance we have lost.”
We were extremely honoured to have received the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development three times. It shows our absolute and unwavering commitment to our sustainability agenda. As we continue our journey, we can see many of our projects are reflected in the themes of this year’s Earth Day and we are excited at the prospect of making a bigger difference, together.
Natural processes
Busy bees and home-grown ingredients…
For our 2021 Collaboration Series, we decided to brew four new beers inspired by our long history of running our business sustainably. With each release, we plan to work with a like-minded brewery and make a new sustainability commitment. With the release of our first collaboration, Nevermore, we committed to using more UK hops and hope to use around two tonnes. British hops are better for the environment than their US and New Zealand counterparts, having a lower carbon footprint and using less irrigation when growing. We look forward to developing relationships with British hop growers and showcasing new flavours in the future.
On a much smaller scale, Steve, our Beekeeper, has been busy re-homing bees on the site of our distribution centre for some time. Our bee corridor continues to grow and now homes over 2 million bees over 30 sites near Southwold. Our bees don’t make enough to supply the brewery just yet, but their honey is used in our hotels and inns.
Emerging technology
Our ideas hold water…
Adnams investment in a closed water recovery system continues to significantly control our usage and limit our waste. We are working closely with our supplier on a full water recovery system for our dealcoholiser to further reduce our impact. In addition, our sustainable distribution centre in Reydon celebrates its 15th year and we continue to benefit from its rainwater harvesting system, which helps to wash our fleet of vehicles and flush our toilets.
Innovative thinking
Thinking outside the cardboard box…
We have recently trialled package-free delivery from our stores, we are looking at innovative repurchase schemes and we continue to reduce and remove the use of plastic in our packaging. We have been pursuing this for a while and started the process with new bottled beer releases such as Old Ale. We continue to develop our in-house capabilities and have also contributed to industry forums, academic studies and supplier events where we can share ideas, raise awareness and learn from others.
Restoration
Beach cleans and clean seas…
Adnams English Lager, Kobold, supports the Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE). BLUE’s mission is to restore the world’s oceans and see at least 30% under effective protection by 2030 and the other 70% managed responsibly. The organisation uses a combination of top-down intervention to improve governance and bottom-up project delivery to help local communities that are at the front line of ocean conservation. We also continue our 15-year long-standing tradition of local Beach Cleans, which are conducted with the help of the local community and members of our team.
