Leading beverage company Lion has today officially commissioned a Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at its Tooheys brewery in Lidcombe – which will significantly reduce water used at the site, the largest brewery in NSW and Lion’s Australian network.
Key statistics:
- The Tooheys Lidcombe Brewery Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling plant will save an estimated 270 million litres of water each year
- The $7.2 million project will deliver water savings per year equivalent of 5.3 million kegs of water or 108 Olympic sized swimming pools
The Tooheys Lidcombe brewery will now have the best practice water usage system available to recover up to 30 per cent of water used during the cleaning and pre-production processes.
The plant’s recycled water quality is very high and is used for non-food surface cleaning and cooling purposes within the brewery (not within the beer itself).
Lion Group CEO, Sam Fischer, says the plant is an investment towards more sustainable beer and setting a benchmark for Australian brewers, “While Lion is proud of our position as Australasia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer, we are constantly looking at what more we can do to reduce our impact on the environment and do the right thing for the long term.
“Water is one of the biggest inputs to brewing beer and following the success of the Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at our XXXX brewery in Brisbane, we thought it is only fair to create one for Tooheys drinkers. This Lidcombe Tooheys plant has been three years in the making and will save some 108 Olympic sized swimming pools of water each year – or 5.3 million kegs.
“We have an ongoing commitment to sustainability and are focused on investing in practical measures that reduce water consumption, help decarbonise the brewing process and drive the circular economy to reduce waste.”
Sydney Water’s Head of Customer Contact, Dan Peacock said Sydney Water was proud to have played a significant role in bringing the Tooheys Lidcombe Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant to life.
“By implementing a unique way to recycle water, it allows Tooheys to save 270 million litres per year of water, and significantly reduces their water bill by approximately $700,000+ annually,” Mr Peacock said.
“Non-residential customers, like Toohey’s, use about 22 per cent of all drinking water in Sydney. So, this project is a pivotal, sustainable step forward, demonstrating how much water can be saved through a committed water conservation program. By embracing practices like recycling water, they are demonstrating how large-scale businesses can make a substantial difference in reducing water waste and protecting our resources.
“This partnership is just one an example of how businesses can work with Sydney Water to meet environmental goals and conserve water. Every drop of water is precious, especially as we face ongoing challenges in water resilience, so we are really pleased to have supported this innovative project.”
The Tooheys Lidcombe Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant is the second from Tooheys owner, Lion, which commissioned the Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at its XXXX Brewery in Brisbane in 2009, which has resulted in an average of 282 million litres of water saved per year.
Lion aims to reduce the brewery’s water consumption to achieve the world’s best practice for other businesses to follow. So far it has met its pledge to become a certified carbon neutral organisation by 2020 and has been procuring 100% renewable electricity for its operations from January 2023.
Lion has already exceeded its 2030 Science Based Target by reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by over 55% from its 2019 baseline. Since setting the target, Lion has established a ‘whole brewery’ carbon reduction approach across its Australian breweries, including energy efficiency initiatives, biogas utilisation, rooftop solar panels, renewable power purchase agreements through to providing brewers spent grain to reduce livestock emissions.