Allagash Brewing Company Case Study

Allagash is a brewing company based out of Portland Maine. Form the beginning, in 1995, as a one-person operation; Allagash has been focused on being an environmentally and socially responsible member of the community. This “caring spirit” is written into their core values as a company. They put a comprehensive sustainability imitative in place with a focus on reducing waste and using less water and power, while engaging the organization in everything they do. They have been honored by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and recognized for Environmental Excellence.

Their accomplishments that they are most proud of include:

~ Over 2014 99.74% of all waste produced at the brewery was diverted form the landfill. Excluding spent grain and yeas, they diverted 93.29% (a 9.6 point increase over the previ. year). This equates to over 4.3 million pounds of waste diverted.

~ Reducing Water conception: installing water-free urinals and flow restrictions on every faucet in the building, investing in wastewater treatment tank (enables self-regulate their own effluent without adding extra water and reusing water, the keg line has a close loop CIP system, allowing them t reduce water used to clean kegs before filling. In 2014 they used 3.27 barrels of water per barrel produced, a 20% decrease from the previ. year.

~ Only use they energy needed: e.g. installed smart air compressor that delivers exactly what is needed with less waste that traditional compressors. In 2014 they used 23.32 kwH/barrel-packaged beers, a 20% increase over previ. year.

~Sustainable thinking brought to everything: - develop easy to follow processes for holding zero waste “green meeting” – house bees on site to promote a healthy environment – embrace a sustainable purchasing policy to guide the buying of “anything” internally – all merchandise in their retail store is either made in the US, organic, or made from recycled/reclaimed materials. Even their displays and bar are made from recycled materials – performed a comprehensive waste audit,= and shared the learning with the entire company, along with follow-ups on how they can improve – clear signage around the brewery explain to visitors and employees how to compost or recycle most waste – training for their field sales team on how to minimize or eliminate waste at the festivals and evens here they share Allagash beers- they donate proceeds from some of their beers to sustainability focused non-profits including MOFGA and Portland Trails

I do not believe that after everything above there needs to be much more explanation to how Allagash Brewing Company is a perfect candidate for CSR. They have been all about CSR since the beginning and continue to crush their goals year after year. Not to mentions, they offer a great product. If you like beer, I highly suggest you try theirs, my favorite beer of all time is their Allagash White, which is a Belgian white ale brewed with orange peel, very similar to Blue Moon and UFO White.

Visit their website: they have events all the time, including one coming up about saving Jumbo Wild, which you can read about in my last weeks post for Event Write-Up #12 ☺