Brewers Association Releases New Guidance on Sustainable Brewery Design

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The Brewers Association (BA) has released a new resource, Sustainable Design and Build Strategies for Craft Brewers. This new sustainability manual outlines important considerations for brewers who need guidance on how to design a new, sustainable building for their operations, and for brewers looking to enhance, expand, or renovate their operations and want to incorporate green building elements.

Sustainable Design and Build Strategies for Craft Brewers outlines big-picture considerations relevant to selecting the right site, including process-level strategies to minimize water, energy, and waste on a daily basis. The manual can be utilized from start to finish, or brewers may choose to focus on particular sections, as their individual operations require. The manual is organized into five sections:

  1. Site Selection & Characteristics: Successful site selection projects result in the identification of a location with the optimal balance of brewer and/or pub owner-specific operating costs, business conditions, infrastructure, and risk.
  2. Major Utilities: The type of utility service, capacity, and potential for future growth will need to be determined and incorporated as early as possible within decision-making processes, including site selection.
  3. Building Envelope: How the building envelope is engineered and constructed will inevitably impact the overall functionality of a brewery, as well as the energy and water resources needed to supply and operate the structure.
  4. Operating Systems: Implementing the most efficient operating system, process equipment, and maintenance during design, procurement, and construction phases will ensure that a brewery or brewpub operates at the lowest sustainable cost possible.
  5. Case Study: Transition from Small to Mid-Sized Brewery: A detailed case study of one brewery’s experiences is include so that other brewers can benefit from their successes and mistakes.

Also included are two site selection checklists, information on undertaking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, and helpful insights that focus on real-world examples of process improvement strategies.