The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) has released its 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Study, providing a comprehensive, comparable analysis of environmental performance across more than 1,600 facilities globally, offering a clear view of industry progress, operational efficiency, and emerging risk areas.
Now in its 20th year, BIER continues to build on a long-standing benchmarking program, using multi-year data to provide a robust perspective on industry performance trends.
Established in 2006, BIER unites globally recognized beverage companies to advance environmental sustainability through collaboration, scientific rigor, and shared expertise. The benchmarking study is a prime example of this approach in action, providing industry-wide data that supports measurable progress in water stewardship, climate, and operational efficiency.
This year’s study includes data from 2020, 2022, and 2024, representing 15 companies and facilities spanning six continents. Results show that while global beverage production increased by 8% over the reporting period, participating companies achieved meaningful efficiency improvements, including:
- 3% reduction in water use ratio
- 4% reduction in energy use ratio
- 11% reduction in emissions ratio
These findings demonstrate continued progress toward decoupling production growth from environmental impact, an important signal for investors, industry stakeholders, and member companies seeking credible, data-backed evidence of sustainability performance and operational improvement.
The study also highlights the growing importance of water risk. More than 60% of facilities currently operate in areas facing at least medium water risk, with over half projected to face medium to extremely high water stress by 2030. This data underscores the increasing importance of proactive water stewardship, informed decision-making, and cross-industry collaboration in managing long-term operational and environmental risks.
BIER’s benchmarking work supports its broader mission to strengthen collective action within the beverage industry. By providing standardized metrics, transparent insights, and a platform for shared learning, BIER enables member companies to assess performance relative to peers, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate data into actionable strategies that drive measurable environmental performance improvements across the sector.
As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, resources like the benchmarking study are increasingly essential in helping companies move from commitment to implementation and in providing external stakeholders with credible, comparable insights into industry-wide progress.
“BIER’s benchmarking study reflects the value of sustained collaboration across the beverage sector. By bringing companies together around consistent, comparable data, we’re able to move beyond insight to action- identifying practical opportunities, prioritizing investments, and tracking the real progress companies are making on shared environmental priorities.” ~ Erica Pann, Executive Director, BIER
The Beverage Industry Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking is available for download at: 2025 Water, Energy, and Emissions Benchmarking Summary - BIER
For more information, please contact: BIER@anteagroup.us
The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector.