Brewers seek more sustainable barley

One of the country’s leading pub, cider and beer businesses is launching an innovative trial to explore how one of the main ingredients of beer - barley - can be grown in a more sustainable way to help reduce CO2 emissions.

Heineken UK, which is headquartered in Edinburgh, will work with malt supplier Muntons, supply chain consultancy Future Food Solutions and barley growers on a pilot project which will see 7000 acres of winter and spring barley varieties grown yielding up to 25,000 tonnes of grain - enough to brew almost 300 million pints of beer.The company said that ambition was to use the findings from the pilot to scale the project over the coming years to help contribute to its global ambition to reduce emissions throughout its supply chain, including the production of barley.

Matt Callan, supply chain director at Heineken UK, said the trial was about ensuring a sustainable long term supply chain.

“Agriculture is the second biggest contributor of our carbon footprint and with our new ambition to hit carbon neutrality through our entire value chain by 2040, tackling this part of our footprint is key.”

One of the growers involved, Rachel Scholes, said it was fantastic to see leadership on the issue from big brands looking to bridge that gap between producer and consumer.

“With the trial covering a huge amount of acreage, it has the potential to generate some really positive outcomes for the environment and demonstrate farming’s vital role in mitigating climate change,” she said.