The Isle of Arran Brewery has been shortlisted for the highly prestigious SIBA Business Award for Green Business.
SIBA is the UK’s foremost brewery trade body representing over 600 independent craft breweries. Each year they give an award in the Green Brewery category to the brewer with the most innovative Green credentials or projects.
Arran has been shortlisted for the Green Business Award as a direct result of its project in collaboration with the Islands Green Recovery Programme Instigated by Zero Waste Scotland. The project aims to reduce the use of packaging materials in two main areas:
A reduction in shrink wrap and cardboard, usually only used once before being discarded, by investing in a large fleet of bottle crates, which will be used for on island deliveries to our distributors.
A reduction in glass usage by the introduction of a growler filler station offering up to 6 of our beers to go into growlers (larger, re-sealable, re-usable beer containers) which we will make available to either buy or rent to both island residents and tourists.
The team at Arran Brewery have always been proactive in trying to make the business of brewing as green as possible; from recycling company waste products to composting spent hops to providing our spent grain to local farmers as feed for livestock.
This years the final three breweries happen to represent the three UK nations: Well Drawn Brewing being based in Wale; Hobson’s Brewery based in England; and our very own “Arran Brewery” based here in Scotland. Arran therefore finds itself representing Scotland in a very tough and competitive Green award.
Head Brewer Craig Laurie said “I have always looked for ways to improve our Green credentials, from increasing ingredient utilisation – getting more great quality beer for the same input of raw materials, to reducing waste in bottling bringing it down from over 5% to around 0.5%, and I am proud that our hard work has been recognised by our peers in the brewing industry”.
Chris Bowen, Quality Manager and Veronica Michaluk COO were behind this particular initiative and they are working hard to ensure a much Greener Arran.
Veronica said “I am very pleased by the way the new team has embraced the need to go that step further in improving our green credentials, which were already well established”.
Chris added “Our company slogan, which can be found on most of our labels, reads “Quality in in our nature” my aim is to ensure both quality and nature are continually cared for and improved at the brewery and I am very happy to see our work recognised by our trade body.
The Isle of Arran Brewery is great full for the support of the Islands Green Recovery Programme, Zero Waste Scotland and the Scottish Government which has made this initiative possible.”
Press release from Isle of Arran Brewery
Contact: Chris Bowen [chris@arranbrewery.co.uk]