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In addition to increasing green electricity and biogas, HEINEKEN is taking further sustainable steps in the area of ​​packaging materials and logistics processes

With Heineken The Dutch mission to be fully circular by 2030 has taken the beer brand another sustainable step. Since July of this year, all Heineken beer for the Dutch market has been brewed with 100% green energy.

Since 2010, the brewer has been working on his global sustainable goal of “Brewing a Better World”, among other things to reduce the CO2 emissions of the breweries. In accordance with this goal, wind turbines and large quantities of solar panels were installed. In addition, the use of biogas began in 2018 and is now fully functional. The result? Since last month, all Heineken beer for the Dutch market has been brewed completely green.

Hans Bohm, Managing Director of Heineken Netherlands, commented:

“With our global program“ Brewing a Better World ”we are making the chain and our products sustainable step by step. Our ultimate goal is to have a complete cycle in the Netherlands with breweries that are completely climate neutral by 2030. We have taken many great steps lately, including further increasing biogas and solar energy. I am proud to say that since last month we have been brewing our Heineken for Dutch consumers with 100% green energy. This applies to all product and packaging variants of the Heineken brand on the Dutch market, including Heineken 0.0.

“Both the thermal and electrical energy used in the brewery's beer production and the packaging lines for all Heineken beers for Dutch consumers are produced sustainably. That is around three million hectoliters of beer per year. The green energy consists of solar energy, wind energy and biogas from waste treatment. Biogas is obtained from the wastewater from the breweries in Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch and supplemented with biogas from the waste treatment of the Aa Water Authority and Maas. "

Hans added, “We really see green energy as an essential new ingredient in our Heineken beer. Wind and sun are just as important as hops, water and yeast. The use of sustainable energy literally makes Heineken even more environmentally friendly. But our ambition goes even further. The next step is to make our packaging materials more sustainable in the short term and to further close the material cycle in the Netherlands. "

In addition to increasing the use of green electricity and biogas, HEINEKEN in the Netherlands is taking further sustainable steps in the area of ​​packaging materials and logistics processes. For example, this year the brewery has been offering Heineken 0.0 in a refillable green bottle and box.

In addition, more and more pubs in Dutch city centers (e.g. Utrecht and Den Bosch) are being supplied with the sustainable “mini” tank beer truck, which reduces the need for large trucks. HEINEKEN is the first customer of Zero Emission Services B.V. (ZES) also on the reduction of CO2 emissions in the Dutch inland navigation in 2021. With this new electric sailing system, the brewer can transport emission-free beer from the brewery in Zoeterwoude to the port in Moerdijk.

Affligem Blond and Affligem Blond 0.0% will be introduced in a new packaging form from September. These variants are only available in the brown BNR deposit bottle. The refillable brown returnable bottles last for years and cause seven times less CO2 emissions than single-use bottles. This makes it the most sustainable form of packaging. The brewer expects to be able to offer all Affligem variants in this bottle in 2021.