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Brewers Association Releases New Sustainability Benchmarking Tool

Link to article BA Sustainability Benchmarking Tool
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Technical Brewing Projects Director

Chuck joined the Brewers Association staff in 2013 after a long career as a craft brewer. He opened Tennessee’s first brewpub, Boscos, in 1992. As an owner and director of brewery operations for Boscos Brewing Company, he opened additional brewpubs in Memphis, Nashville, and Little Rock, Arkansas. In 2007, Chuck opened and operated Ghost River Brewing in Memphis. He has served as chair of the Association of Brewers Board of Advisors, chair of the Association of Brewers Board of Directors, and was a member of the first Board of Directors for the Brewers Association. In his capacity as technical brewing projects manager, Chuck works with the Technical Committee and the safety, sustainability, quality, draught beer quality, engineering, and supply chain subcommittees to encourage and facilitate best practices in all phases of Brewers Association members' brewery operations.

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Craft brewers care about the long-term health of their communities and the natural resources that make their livelihood possible. In 2015, the Brewers Association (BA) embarked on a project that provided craft brewers with a dashboard, known as the Sustainability Benchmarking Tool, that allowed brewers to track their resource use. The data collected has since been used to develop industry benchmarking reports, which allow brewers to compare their efficiency with other breweries in their region and with breweries of similar production volume around the U.S.

The latest version of the BA Sustainability Benchmarking Tool is now available:

Download the Tool

New Spreadsheet-Based System

Late in 2018, the third-party vendor that hosted the benchmarking dashboard informed the BA that they would no longer support the existing online tool. The BA Sustainability Subcommittee completed a thorough search for other online systems that would meet members’ needs and goals. After several vendor demonstrations, we have concluded that there is nothing readily available in the marketplace to replace the existing online system.

The overwhelming recommendation from current users and from the Sustainability Subcommittee was to develop a Microsoft Excel-based system instead. The new system provides brewery members of all sizes and complexities with greater value, ease of use and functionality, and tracking completeness.

Measure Up To 39 KPIs

New users can choose from a basic version, which tracks 14 key performance indicators (KPIs), or an advanced version, which allows tracking of up to 39 KPIs. Most BA members will only need the functionality of the basic version. Users of the original web-based system have been provided with the appropriate version of the new tool, complete with their previously entered data.

Ensuring the Availability of Resources for the Future

Tracking resource use is the first step in reducing resource use. Used together, the benchmarking tool and the benchmarking reports help brewers decrease the use of natural resources and increase brewery profitability, while helping to ensure the availability of the resources needed to continue to brew great beer.

Link to author biography
Technical Brewing Projects Director

Chuck joined the Brewers Association staff in 2013 after a long career as a craft brewer. He opened Tennessee’s first brewpub, Boscos, in 1992. As an owner and director of brewery operations for Boscos Brewing Company, he opened additional brewpubs in Memphis, Nashville, and Little Rock, Arkansas. In 2007, Chuck opened and operated Ghost River Brewing in Memphis. He has served as chair of the Association of Brewers Board of Advisors, chair of the Association of Brewers Board of Directors, and was a member of the first Board of Directors for the Brewers Association. In his capacity as technical brewing projects manager, Chuck works with the Technical Committee and the safety, sustainability, quality, draught beer quality, engineering, and supply chain subcommittees to encourage and facilitate best practices in all phases of Brewers Association members' brewery operations.

See Chuck Skypeck's Articles