Energy and Carbon

Having a long history in the beer business is usually an advantage for MillerCoors. Yet, it also means that about two-thirds of our major utility equipment is more than 30 years old and may be less energy-efficient than more modern equipment. That's why we're committed to reducing our fuel use and emissions and increasing our renewable energy through:

• Capital spending for equipment upgrades and engineering retrofits that can improve our environmental and operating efficiency
• Finding new ways to work with our existing infrastructure, primarily by changing our behaviors and standard operating procedures.

We track our use of energy against units of production to allow performance comparisons across our breweries and with other brewers. To achieve our goal we have to use less energy at the same level of production, or we have to increase our beer production faster than we increase our energy consumption.
 

Reducing Energy Consumption

By improving its supply chain operations and communication between its boiler and brewing operators, our Ohio brewery is now able to operate using one boiler rather than two. This achieved a 10 percent reduction in energy per barrel of beer compared to 2009, and saved approximately $600,000 in fuel costs. In Milwaukee, we finished replacing 25 individual heaters for the brewery's loading docks with one shared heating system. We project this upgrade will save more than $133,000 per year in energy costs, while reducing our CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions.  Check out some of our other energy-related projects.   

Reducing Emissions 

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol developed by the World Resources Institute describes three "scopes" of emissions sources for measurement and reporting purposes. MillerCoors intends to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions substantially over the next decade as measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents.  Our goal for 2015, which we set as a participant in the EPA's Climate Leaders program, is an 8 percent reduction from our baseline 1,815,780 kg in 2008. 

Renewable Energy

As part of our capital expenditure program, we are exploring options for cost-effective renewable energy that can reduce our emissions profile. In 2010, we started a project to install an engine that would use biogas from the anaerobic treatment of wastewater for the generation of electricity at our Virginia brewery. Operation of this system is planned for early 2012.