Indian beer company Bira 91 celebrated Earth Day 2023 (April 21st, 2023) with the announcement that its Mysuru brewery has achieved carbon neutrality, becoming the first net-zero brewery in the country.
The popular craft brewery achieved this milestone by reducing energy use at their Mysuru brewery and transitioning to 100% renewable energy, which significantly cut down its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 1 emissions are green house gases released directly from company owned machinery, facilities, and vehicles, with Scope 2 being indirect emissions associated with the generation of electricity, heat, steam and/or cooling.
The brewery’s carbon emissions for the calendar year 2022 were independently assessed and certified by
TÜV NORD in compliance with global ISO 14064 standards, GHG Protocol, and ISAE 3410.
Ankur Jain, Founder and CEO of B9 Beverages (Bira 91’s holding company), commented that “At Bira 91, we believe that beer can be even more flavorful if produced in sync with nature. We embarked on the Net-Zero journey a few years back and I am extremely proud that Mysuru Brewery has set a major milestone by becoming India’s first Net-Zero brewery.”
Ankur Jain, Founder and CEO of B9 Beverages (Photo: Bira 91)
The journey referred to by Mr Jain is Bira 91’s “Mission to Zero” initiative, launched last year which lays out the company’s goal to become India’s first net-zero beer company by 2025.
This would be achieved through four key areas:
- shifting to 100% clean energy
- reducing energy consumption by 60%
- decreasing water usage by 50%
- completely eliminating waste destined for landfills from all its breweries.
Commenting further on the milestone, Mr Jain said that “Mission to Zero is perhaps the most important work that our company is doing. With a significant manufacturing footprint in India, we feel that we have the responsibility and opportunity to be stewards in the area of carbon neutrality and inspire all manufacturing companies in India to achieve Net Zero. I congratulate our Net Zero Team for working hard and with creativity to achieve what could have seemed unachievable when we announced this goal last year”.
The foundations of Mission to Zero lie in Bira 91’s partnership with Japanese beverage company Kirin
Holdings to establish the B9-Kirin Centre for Sustainable Growth, focusing on environmental
sustainability and business synergies. This resulted in the launch of ‘Mission To Zero’, an aggressive
roadmap to becoming carbon neutral by 2025.
Hiromasa Honda, Managing Director, Kirin Holdings Singapore, said of the milestone, “This
remarkable accomplishment, coupled with the soaring demand for Bira 91 beers, is a prime
example of how economic growth and social responsibility can work in harmony. We take great
pride in our partnership with Bira 91 and look forward to continuing our journey toward a more
sustainable future.”
Bira 91’s Mission to Zero has already reduced energy usage in its breweries by making its manufacturing processes more automated and efficient. The company has transitioned to 100% renewable energy and electricity, produced through solar, hydroelectricity, wind, and other clean sources. As a result, it has eliminated its Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by an impressive 5,000 tonnes since FY2021.
The Mysuru brewery has also made significant strides in water conservation, saving 31 million liters of water, and planted over 500 local tree varieties on their premises, providing a natural carbon sink for the community. The brewery has achieved this Net Zero milestone several years ahead of its global peers in the sector.
Bira 91 “Mission To Zero” roadmap
