Thursday 12 December 2019: Visiting the West End Brewery Christmas lights is an annual tradition loved by many South Australians, but this year’s display will have a major point of difference.
Brewery Manager Astrid Eerens today announced that the Christmas Riverbank Display will be carbon neutral this year, ahead of the brewery itself becoming carbon neutral in 2020, and Lion’s network of Australian breweries running on 100% renewable electricity by 2025.
“It’s been a big year of milestones for West End. In October we celebrated 160 years of brewing in South Australia, and we turned on the Christmas lights for the 60th time at the end of the November,” Eerens said.
“But today’s announcement is about welcoming a new era and really going beyond in our commitment to the environment.
“Last month, Lion committed to becoming Australia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer, and we thought that offsetting this year’s Riverbank Display was the perfect way to show South Australians that their beloved West End Draught will be produced in a carbon neutral brewery from next year.
“We are committed to reducing energy intensity in our production over time, but speed is of the essence in stabilising the climate. That’s why in 2020 we’re throwing a safety net over our remaining operational CO2 footprint.”
The emissions from this year’s Christmas lights will be offset through a reforestation project that establishes permanent native plantings on land that was previously cleared for agricultural purposes.
Tasman Environmental Markets, Australia’s largest buyer of carbon offsets is providing Lion with a portfolio of verified projects to offset its remaining organisational carbon footprint. The rest of the portfolio will be announced early in 2020.
The Christmas Riverbank Display is free for all families in Adelaide as a gift from the West End Brewery. It runs daily from 4pm to midnight, until New Year’s Eve.
ENDS.
About Sustainability at Lion:
Sustainability is important to Lion. We believe that working in a responsible and sustainable way is a force for good – for our people, our environment and our society.
Since setting a target to reduce our carbon footprint by 30% by 2025 from its 2015 baseline – Lion has established a ‘whole brewery’ carbon reduction approach across its portfolio, including energy efficiency, biogas utilisation, rooftop solar, renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) through to providing brewers grain to reduce livestock emissions. In doing so, we have achieved a 13% (approximately 13,000 tonnes) reduction in its absolute carbon footprint of approximately 93,000 tonnes of CO2. Lion is on track to meet its target by 2025.
From next year, 107,000 tonnes of carbon will be offset by Lion. This is the equivalent of Lion’s remaining direct manufacturing emissions, for example, natural gas and electricity consumption at its breweries (Scope 1 & 2) and some indirect (Scope 3) emissions linked to business activity, such as emissions from business travel. Over the next three years, Lion also plans to explore options for product certification via collaboration with its supply chain to tackle Scope 3 emissions, including those embodied in ingredients, packaging and transport.
Lion is proud to be extending its reliance on renewable electricity as a key component of maintaining Climate Active certified carbon neutral operations.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Elizabeth Bold
Media & Communications Manager, Lion Australia
0421 765 446
