It’s no secret that big names in the alcoholic beverage industry are moving towards more sustainable methodologies. Approaching the change from many angles, companies are finding innovative ways to reduce their carbon foot prints, use less energy & water, and use innovative materials and resources.
Take Anheuser-Busch InBev for instance; they tackled their water use and are saving lots of it! Last year the beer maker reported using 4.04 hectoliters of water for every hectoliter of production—otherwise known as the equivalent of 16,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They’re aiming to save even more next year.  How did they do it? By making engineering improvements, fostering awareness in operations and making behavioral changes – optimizing efficiency in all their plants. They are also saving energy, aiming for a 10% reduction in carbon footprint by 2012 and a 99% recycle rate by eliminating material losses, packaging improvements and alternative uses for raw materials and byproducts.
Some wine companies are also addressing a big environmental issue: transportation. Just ask Dr. Vino, Tyler Colman, resident wine guru, (yes he does have a PHD). The Doctor conducted extensive research about transportation and making sustainable wine, he then developed a way to calculate a wines carbon footprint, check out his calculations! Kudus to any eco-nerds, (we count ourselves among you), if you want the whole report download it here.
Speaking of transportation Yellow+Blue wines, not only come in a tetra pak, they also transport their wine in bulk! They buy it before it’s bottled and ship it in steel tanks to North America, doing so has a 46% smaller carbon footprint than the traditional method. Way to think outside and in the box all at the same time! With a wide selection of reds and whites Yellow+Blue is always a good go-to choice for a S-Lushie.

Happy Imbibing!