Anheuser-Busch Breweries Increase 2008 Recycling
November 14 2008 - 10:56AM
PR Newswire (US)
Employee Efforts Have Reduced Weight to Landfill Contributions by
Nearly 22 Percent ST. LOUIS, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Anheuser-Busch
announced today that even with production increases, the weight of
material it contributes to community landfills from its 12 U.S.
breweries has been reduced by nearly 22 percent (or approximately
2,400 tons) in 2008 compared to the same time frame last year. All
of this is part of the brewer's ongoing efforts to recycle the
solid waste associated with brewing and packaging its beers, to a
rate of more than 99 percent. "Our employees are to be commended
for their efforts to find ways to recycle and reuse materials
throughout our operations," said Peter Kraemer, vice president of
operations for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "At each of our 12 U.S.
breweries, our people are looking for ways to use fewer materials
and keep the solid waste we do generate out of landfills. Their
accomplishments are truly making an impact, not only in our
breweries, but in the communities in which they live." Recycling at
Anheuser-Busch is a tradition that began in the late 1800s when the
company first recycled brewers' grain into cattle feed. Among the
items reused and recycled at the breweries include: spent brewers'
grain, plastic strapping, stretch wrap, aluminum, glass, cardboard,
plastics, office paper, metals, pallets and beechwood chips. This
amounted to nearly four billion pounds of materials in 2007. To
help emphasize its recycling efforts, Anheuser-Busch has placed a
print ad in this week's editions of Sport Illustrated and U.S. News
and World Report. Featuring Fort Collins brewery employee Blair
Everett, the ad notes the company's long-standing environmental
record. Anheuser-Busch has also focused on reducing the amount of
materials used at its breweries. For example, the company has
reduced aluminum can weight by more than 40 percent since the
1970s. Employees are also encouraged to look for ways to conserve
energy, water and raw materials in daily operations at the
breweries and learn how to conserve energy and recycle at home
through environmental fairs and the company's annual "Green Week,"
a yearly tradition dating back to 1990. Anheuser-Busch is also
expanding its use of alternative fuels and announced earlier this
year that more than five billion 12 oz. servings of beer -- or the
equivalent of about one in seven beers brewed by the company in the
United States -- are expected to be brewed using renewable fuel by
the end of 2009*, thanks to environmental efforts at the company's
12 U.S. breweries. As a member of the U.S. EPA Climate Leaders
Program, Anheuser-Busch has committed to reduce total greenhouse
gas emissions to 5 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2010 for
all of its U.S. operations. Using EPA standards, this reduction in
total greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of taking nearly
30,000 passenger vehicles off the road or heating more than 14,000
homes. In addition, the company has also committed to increasing
the total use of renewable fuel from 8 percent to 15 percent in the
same time period. Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading
American brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales.
The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and
Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo
Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China
brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country's
best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 overall and
No. 1 in social responsibility among beverage companies in FORTUNE
Magazine's Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2008.
Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the
United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of
the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans. For more
information, visit http://www.ourpledge.com/. * "More than five
billion 12-ounce servings" and "about one in seven beers brewed by
Anheuser-Busch" are figures derived from taking the company's U.S.
beer production in 2007, converting it to equivalent 12-ounce
servings and multiplying the figure by the estimated percentage of
renewable fuel the company plans to use at its U.S. breweries in
2009. DATASOURCE: Anheuser-Busch CONTACT: Ellen Bogard,
+1-314-577-9615, , or Anthony Paraino, +1-314-577-3453, , both of
Anheuser-Busch Web site: http://www.ourpledge.com/
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