The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) released their 2018 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study celebrating their tenth benchmarking report and most comprehensive quantitative and qualitative benchmark of water, energy, and emissions efficiency in the beverage industry. Findings of the study substantiate the beverage industry’s ongoing efforts to better understand and reduce resource use on a global scale. Nineteen companies participated in this study, providing valuable quantitative insight for over 1,600 facilities across six continents.

The 2018 benchmarking study includes water, energy, and emissions data from 2013, 2015, and 2017, representing a diverse variety of facility types, production sizes, and geographic locations from around the globe. This study marks the second benchmarking to request Scope 1 and 2 emissions data at the facility level and is the first year that these results are externally shared. Of the facilities that provided all three years of data, 66% achieved an improvement in water use ratio, 63% achieved an improvement in energy use ratio, and 62% achieved an improvement in their emissions ratio. This helps illustrate the proactive approach the beverage industry is taking to improve business practices, understand industry challenges, and lessen environmental impacts.

“Releasing the tenth BIER Benchmarking study is a milestone achievement for our industry and reflects the proactive and collaborative efforts of industry leaders who to come together and drive business performance while mitigating environmental impacts.” Says Laura Nelson, BIER Associate Director. “The study continues to be a valuable resource for beverage companies and industry leaders to evaluate water, energy, and carbon emissions within their organizations.”

Moving forward, BIER plans to continue the use of biennial benchmarking structure with the next water, energy and emissions benchmarking report scheduled for 2020. BIER looks forward to continued engagement with our members, stakeholders, and various working groups to ensure that benchmarking insights are meaningful, accurate, and conducive to our primary goal: to enhance collaboration and advance sustainability within the beverage sector.

Download the benchmarking study here.