Steinlager has announced that it is New Zealand’s first large-scale beer brand to be Toitū carbonzero certified.
To receive the certification, each step of Steinlager’s product life cycle has been emissions reduced or offset – from growing the hops and barley, making the beer at the brewery, to bottles, caps, packaging and transport, to the length of time the beer will spend in the consumer’s fridge.
Owned by Lion, Steinlager partnered with Toitū to undertake an intensive certification audit that allowed it to accurately measure its greenhouse gas emissions and put in place strategies to manage and reduce the footprint each year.
The audit revealed that the production of a dozen Steinlager bottles in a standard pack emits 3.2 kg of CO2e, which is the equivalent of driving 13 km in a Toyota Hilux or having your BBQ on full flame for 1.2 hours.
Lion says all of this is now being offset, with ongoing reduction efforts in place and any step in the product’s life cycle that cannot be reduced is mitigated through the two offsetting initiatives the company has invested in: a forest protection regeneration project in the South Island and a renewable energy farm in India.
“By becoming carbon neutral, Steinlager is supporting the New Zealand Government’s goal of becoming net zero by 2050,” says Geoff Kidd, Senior Brand Manager for Steinlager.
“We recognise our place in Kiwi culture and are committed to doing our part to reduce our nations carbon footprint.”
Steinlager represents almost 10% of the total New Zealand beer market, with Lion investing in Steinlager’s certification after successfully undertaking this process in 2019 with its sustainable beer brand, The Fermentist.
Kat McDonald, Lion Sustainability Manager, says Lion took all the learnings from The Fermentist and applied that to Steinlager.
“The process with a product at a scale like Steinlager is more challenging than a small brand, but we’re committed to it and over time will include other Lion products. It’s a journey we’ve started but we know there’s still lots of work to do,” she says.
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