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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Lanie Tindale

Canberra brewery first to be fully carbon neutral

Climate Active director Dan Sheedy, with Capital Brewery managing director Laurence Kain and sustainability director Dan Watters. Picture: Elesa Kurtz

In Capital Brewing's effort to become Australia's first fully carbon-neutral brewery, they surveyed staff on their commuting habits and inspected "every piece of paper in the office".

The Fyshwick brewer has been declared carbon neutral by government certification body Climate Action.

Sustainability manager Dan Watters said the business wants to "[tread] as lightly as we can on this planet".

"We didn't want just to talk the talk, we wanted to walk the walk and give our customers the absolute confidence that when they're drinking a nice cold beer, they're not contributing to warming the planet," he said.

Through carbon management firm Pangolin Associates, Capital Brewing measured the carbon emissions impact of the entire business, right down to the size of workers' car engines.

"We've captured our freight emissions, we surveyed all of our staff to find out about their commuting habits and the size of their engine, how far they travelled to work, whether they ride their bike ... right down to every piece of paper in the office," he said.

Climate Action documents show the company assessed the emissions impact of things as varied as the raw materials used to make beer brews, taxis and ridesharing, and even office furniture and postage.

Capital sends all byproducts created by the brewing process to Landtasia, an organic composting company 20 minutes east of Bungendore in Mulloon.

Capital's Laurence Kain with Climate Active director Dan Sheedy and sustainability manager Dan Watters. Picture: Elesa Kurtz

"We send all of our spent grain, and hops, and yeast [there]," Mr Watters said.

"Last financial year, that was 709 tons of organic matter they're turning into compost, which you can buy here locally in Canberra.

"[That] avoided 259 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent being emitted into the atmosphere because organic material when it hits landfill turns into methane, which is 25 times more damaging than CO2."

Capital's brewery uses 100 per cent renewable energy, and beer cans are made from recycled aluminium.

The company also claims a partnership with Keep It Cool - whereby a percentage of every beer bought at the snow during winter goes towards tree planting - means Capital is actually carbon positive.

The brewer has also offset 1200 tonnes of CO2 emissions through the Orana Natural Capital Project in Bendigo, Victoria.

Orana says that includes the "permanent protection" of 1120 square metres of native habitat.

While other two other breweries - the Australian arm of Lion and WA brewer Rocky Ridge - have also received Climate Action certification, Capital is the first brewer to be entirely carbon-neutral across both the organisation and products.

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