PRESS RELEASE: 12.05.2006

The Finnish brewing industry is one of Europe’s most environmentally friendly

The brewing industry in Finland has been promoting environmentally favourable operating methods for a long time, and has increased the efficiency of its own internal workings in order to reduce environmental loading. The brewing industry’s environmental balance sheet shows that it has succeeded. Compared to European standard values, all its key figures are excellent.

The environmental balance sheet shows how much raw material, energy and other materials the industry uses to manufacture one litre of beer, and also how much material is left unused during production as emissions, wastewater and landfill waste. The figures in the Finnish brewing industry’s environmental balance sheet can be compared with the standard values given to the brewing industry in Europe. Finland performs excellently in such a comparison. Almost all its key figures are at the lowest limits of the standard range, or even well below them.

All the by-products from beer manufacture, such as mash, yeast, diatomite and even carbon dioxide - as well as the waste generated from packaging - are recycled almost in their entirety. Effective sorting and preventing the generation of waste keep the amount of mixed waste going to landfills low. When it comes to production, the amount of waste ending up in landfills in Finland is remarkably small compared to the European level: only one tenth of the lowest standard value in the European range.

Although the majority of beer in Finland is packaged in reusable bottles that require washing with water, Finland’s water consumption is one of the lowest in Europe. Less than 4 litres of water is required to produce one litre of beer. The average value in the rest of Europe is about eight litres. Efficient recovery and recycling of heat during the brewing process in, for example, wort boiling, pasteurisation and bottle washing reduces energy consumption. On the other hand, a high level of automatisation and advanced packaging technology raise it slightly.

Finnish consumers have embraced bottle recycling, and the level of returns has been close to a hundred per cent for years. About 90 per cent of cans are recycled, too. This has a huge effect on the environmental impacts caused by the drinks industry. “I see no reason why consumers shouldn’t learn to recycle the cardboard from multipacks in just the same way,” says Timo Jaatinen, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.

Key figures from Finland’s environmental balance sheet compared to European standard values