Budweiser Now Uses 100% Renewable Electricity In U.S. Breweries

Powerhouse beverage behemoth, Budweiser, has taken new steps towards becoming a sustainable company. The Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) group plans to shift its facilities in the United States towards 100 percent renewable energy. Budweiser is looking to source the energy from Thunder Ranch Wind Farm, a location power by Enel Green power in Oklahoma.  

To stand by this decision and show its commitment to environmental sustainability, the company will add an energy logo to its labels. This eco symbol, which will represent 100 percent renewable electricity, will be placed on the company’s bottles and cans in the United States. This badge isn’t there to just add color to the packaging either. It will be placed on each and every product to share a sense of transparency with consumers.  

The team hopes to encourage other brands to embrace the symbol and use it on products made using 100 percent renewable energy. 

AB InBev boasts a 600-year-old brewing heritage with a legacy that spans around the world. Today, the brand employees about 200,000 people in over 50 countries and pulls in a revenue of nearly $46 billion. While many traditional companies are hesitant to embrace large-scale changes, this one is not. 

AB InBev has been working towards the goal to operating 100 percent on renewable energy worldwide by 2025. This move will make AB InBev the largest corporate direct purchaser of renewable electricity in the consumer goods sector. As a result, the company will shrink its carbon footprint by 30 percent. 

AB InBev’s CEO, Carlos Brito, commented on the company’s global commitment to make a positive impact and said, “Cutting back on fossil fuels is good for the environment and good for business, and we are committed to helping drive positive change.” 

As the world’s largest beer brewer, AB InBev’s shift towards renewable energy is big deal. Budweiser sells roughly 41 million beers around the globe. That’s not per week either. The company sells that much beer every day. By switching to more sustainable energy, the effect will be akin to taking 48,000 cars off the road annually. 

While completely operating on renewable energy on such a large scale may seem like a lofty goal meant to win over consumers but will never really happen, many large corporations have already been able to hit that target. 

In fact, companies like Starbucks have already achieved their goal to use 100 percent renewables energy within their companies as of 2016. The global vice president of Budweiser told Reuters, “Beer has been around for 3,000 years - we would like that to continue for another 3,000 years.”