Brewdog and Brewdog Distilling going carbon-negative

Brewdog and its spirits arm Brewdog Distilling have taken the unprecedented step to turn their operations carbon-negative.

The Scottish craft brewer and distiller said it plans to remove twice as much carbon from the air as it emits evey year - making it the first carbon-negative international beer brand in the world.

It's part of a 'climate action plan' from Brewdog to reduce its environmental impact, including £30 million worth of green investments across the business.

James Watt, co-founder of Brewdog, said: "Huge change is needed right now, and we want to be a catalyst for that change in our industry and beyond. We fully acknowledge that we are a long way from perfect. However, we are determined to rapidly and fundamentally change everything as we work hard to ensure we have a positive impact on the planet."

As part of the action plan, Brewdog has purchased just over 2,000 acres of Scottish Highlands to create the Brewdog Forest, where it plans to plant one million trees in the next few years and restore 650 acres of peatland. It is also planning to build a sustainable campsite in the forest which will host sustainability retreats and workshops.

Work is expected to start on the Brewdog Forest in 2021 and the company's 130,000 Equity Punk investors have been invited to help with tree planting.

Until it is able to double-offset its carbon emissions with the forest, Brewdog will be working with a number of offset partners on projects to aid biodiversity and local communities.

Green infrastructure projects currently underway at Brewdog include turning spent grain into green gas to power the brewery, investing in vehicle fleet electrification, and building an anaerobic digestor to process wastewater and produce food-grade CO2 to carbonate its beers.

26 August 2020 - Bethany Whymark